Rebirth
by intothelight001
Summary: Post Manga: Lucy was dead, Nyu was dead. Kouta had killed them with his own hand. But like a Phoenix, she has risen from the ashes, given one more chance at the life she never knew. But in a world where the Diclonius are hunted and fear and chaos run rampant, is the cycle of vengeance and cruelty just doomed to repeat itself? Or will the two be able to forge a world their own?
1. Prologue: Wiedergeburt

**REBIRTH  
** -An Elfen Lied Fanfiction

AN: This story is an idea I've been sitting on for a long time. A long time. At one point I had the entire story, along with characters and their motivations/arcs typed out, but it seems as though I lost that at some point so I'll be writing this from memory. That may lead to pacing issues, but I really don't feel like typing out all that again so I'm just going to wing it.

When I first watched and then read Elfen Lied I had really mixed feelings. I liked the characters and their struggles and arcs, but the story itself felt lacking. Progression was messy and the world didn't feel too cohesive. And the ending to the manga annoyed me quite a bit, especially with the asspull that was entropy. I considered retconning it for this story, but decided instead to just work within the confines of what the ending established. Hopefully with this story I can provide a more conclusive and satisfying conclusion to Elfen Lied, at least for myself. If others enjoy, then that's even better.

Future chapters will be longer, I just had to get the initial premise set.

* * *

 **Prologue: Zurückkehren**

" _Kouta! Nyu likes Kouta!" the self-introduced Nyu shouted in his face, oblivious to proper volume levels when near another person._

Kouta shook his head, snapping out of the daydream. Not a day went by that Kouta didn't think of her. The girl that he had brought into his home. The girl who he had gone through trial and tribulation with.

The girl he had killed.

' _No,'_ he chided himself. _'I didn't kill Nyu. I killed that other girl.'_ He hadn't killed Nyu, hadn't killed Lucy. He had killed that other one. They just shared the same body.

He knew he was just trying to rationalize it; find a version of the story where he didn't gun down his friend. But it brought some comfort nonetheless.

Kouta leaned against the wall of the building he was currently standing outside, some clothing store he figured, and let his gaze drift to the clouds in the bright blue sky. _'Another day in paradise.'_ He supposed. It was a beautiful spring day, and a few weeks before the new semester would start. His second year in the Kamakura University would officially begin then.

"Ahh I wonder if I'll do any better this year." He absentmindedly asked himself. His grades hadn't been the best last year, but maybe he'd be able to put the past behind him and finally focus on schooling. Since his dad and sister's deaths he had never been able to focus on school. Maybe now that he had received closure, things would be different.

"Ah, Kouta," a voice broke him out of his daydream. Kouta looked up to be greeted by Mayu's smiling face, dressed in a new pale yellow sundress. "I'm all done shopping here."

"Oh Mayu," Kouta returned. "Sorry I didn't notice you, I guess I got distracted." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh it's no problem. Since Nana is gone with Mr. Kurama it's nice to have someone take me shopping." Mayu replied, still smiling up at him.

"It's just a shame I can't give you the same advice that she can." Kouta smiled back, referring to the girl talk the two frequently shared, before lifting himself off the wall. "Well, where to next?"

"If you had time, I was hoping you would take me to the beach, I need to make sure that it's being kept clean." Mayu asked.

"Of course, Mayu," Kouta patted her head before turning in the direction of the beack. "Besides, a walk would probably do me some good." Mayu let out a happy _hmf_ and the two walked side by side towards the Kamakura beachfront.

'' _It really is a shame that Nana couldn't come with Mayu, she's much better at this shopping thing than I am.'_ Kouta thought. Unfortunately, in the months following Lucy's death, public awareness of the Diclonius had led to much public debate (though using the term debate was being polite) about the perceived dangers of the race. This caused Kurama to be in constant travel, using his knowledge of them to try and create a more open dialogue in the very one-sided debate. More often than not Nana would accompany him. Kurama still had enough pull in the SAT and by extension the JSDF to insure she wasn't taken and executed on the spot, so he used the advantage of a "docile" Diclonius to try and sway the argument from the current "purge" mentality that had won over in the initial public reaction to something more resembling coexistence.

Many called the current situation the Diclonius War, but Kouta thought that was ridiculous. With how few of them remained, and with the anti-diclonius technology being implemented through the Vector Attack Crafts, the few Diclonius with enough survival instinct to override their desire to kill humans chose to flee rather than fight.

Added to this was the fact that the World Health Organization, with the assistance of Dr. Arakawa had created a vaccine for the vector virus that they were currently in the process of distributing to the world's population, and the threat of the Diclonius had been reduced to terror attacks. Kouta believed this reduced threat was the main reason Kurama was gaining any ground on his front. Despite the initial shock and awe, with Lucy gone the Diclonius were relatively powerless to actually destroy the human race anymore.

' _A world where Diclonius could coexist with humans. I wish Nyu could have lived to experience it.'_ Kouta thought wistfully.

* * *

 _Meanwhile leagues under the waters outside Kamakura…_

Visions. Memories?

" _Nyu nyu. WOW LONG NECK!_ _ **KILL THEM ALL!**_ _I told you, I'm a magician. I'll be a good girl."_

" _Kill me."_

Rubble under the ocean from an island now sunken shifted and gave way under the constant ocean current, causing a lone pod to float out, being pulled by the tides.

* * *

"Oh Kouta, you don't need to help, I can handle this by myself." Mayu responded as Kouta began to collect trash off the beach.

"I know, but the sooner you get this done the sooner you can see Wanta, right?" Kouta smiled at her and then resumed gathering the debris. "I bet Wanta is bored to tears without Mayu around."

"Ahhhh Wanta!" Mayu began to panic. "I forgot to pick up treats for Wanta!" Mayu redoubled her efforts to clean the beach so she could get home sooner. It wasn't much longer until the two were done with their task.

"Sorry Kouta but I have to go before Wanta thinks I forgot him!" Mayu blurted out before dashing off. Kouta just sighed as he watched the girl's retreating form. He trusted her to not get into danger so didn't give chase.

Instead, Kouta turned his gaze out towards the ocean. "This beach has a lot of memories." He said to no one to particular. "We met Nyu here last year, didn't we?" Kouta began walking down the beach, getting lost in his thoughts.

' _Kanae, Yuka and I went here before the festival that year,'_ He mused. _'This was also the first time we met Bando. When he tried to kill Nyu.'_ Maybe that memory wasn't as pleasant, but with how fondly Mayu spoke of the man, Kouta couldn't harbor any grudges.

Kouta's daydreams were cut short when he noticed the sun's low position in the sky. "I suppose I should head home before anyone starts to worry." He figured, turning around to begin the walk back. He only got a few steps down the beach before a loud _crunch_ of metal digging into sand caused him to turn back around.

"What is that?" was the only response Kouta could muster. A strange capsule looking device had washed up on the shore, now lying a few paces from where he had previously been. Before Kouta could take a step forward to investigate, the hinges released in a gust of smoke, through which Kouta could make out a figure crawling out. It landed on the sand with a soft thud, before struggling to stand. He could visibly see it tremble through the smoke, as if too weak to properly stand.

Kouta began approaching the figure before stopping in his tracks as the shroud finally cleared, revealing a naked girl with pink hair and horns. Kouta stared in complete shock, only just able to utter out a name.

"N-Nyu?"

 _Fortsetzung folgt…_


	2. Chapter I: Gott aus dem Automaten

AN: I do have a reason as to how Lucy is alive. It's a bit silly, but it's a concept that already exists in the story of Elfen Leid, so it isn't too farfetched. It'll play into the conflict of later chapters, but for now, just consider it a deus-ex-machina (haha, I made a pun).

Updates probably won't be this regular. I just wanted to get something out that had a bit more content than the admittedly light prologue.

Enjoy. Please leave a review to let me know your thoughts.

* * *

 **Chapter I: Gott aus dem Automaten**

 _Bei Nacht im Dorf der Wächter rief: Elfe!  
Ein ganz kleines Elfchen im Walde schlief  
wohl um die Elfe!_

From the peripherals of her senses, she could hear the churning of the ocean, the whizzing of machinery.

 _Und meint, es rief ihm aus dem Tal  
bei seinem Namen die Nachtigall,  
oder Silpelit hätt' ihm gerufen._

She struggled for consciousness, seeking to awaken from the darkness that shrouded her.

 _Reibt sich der Elf' die Augen aus,  
begibt sich vor sein Schneckenhaus  
und ist als wie ein trunken Mann,  
sein Schläflein war nicht voll getan,_

On and on she searched, wading through incoherent thoughts, trying to find something – anything – to latch onto.

"NYU!" She recalled a voice, _his_ voice. Her anchor in the maelstrom that was life. She latched onto the memory. Letting the light of his existence warm her body.

 _und humpelt also tippe tap  
durch's Haselholz in's Tal hinab,  
schlupft an der Mauer hin so dicht,  
da sitzt der Glühwurm Licht an Licht._

Memory after memory returned, like an intricate web. One memory would recall two others, each of those two more, and exponentially she gained an identity.

She remembered. His name, her promise to him. The betrayal that followed, and her final request.

 _Was sind das helle Fensterlein?  
Da drin wird eine Hochzeit sein:  
die Kleinen sitzen bei'm Mahle,  
und treiben's in dem Saale.  
Da guck' ich wohl ein wenig 'nein!_

"Kill me."

So was she dead? Was this the afterlife? Purgatory, an existence confined in this darkness? With the sins she had committed, she figured purgatory to be a lenient punishment. The only thing she would regret was not being able to tell him how she felt. She would endure it, however. Luxuries like that were above her. She would accept her fate in this coffin.

 _Pfui, stößt den Kopf an harten Stein!  
Elfe, gelt, du hast genug?  
Gukuk!_

The coffin surfaced from its burial at sea, washing ashore at a familiar beach.

* * *

Lucy woke with a start. A sudden lurching motion had triggered her senses, throwing her into full alert. It was then that she noticed faint lights from scattered LEDs. Various components and machinery surrounded her. Warily, she began running her hands across them, trying to glean any insight she could.

Soon she noticed what appeared to be a release hatch. She debated a moment before pulling it, startled as the canopy above her began to stir. The light of a setting sun, still comparatively bright in contrast to the dim electronics surrounding her, began to flood in as the cocoon cracked open and she reflexively shut her eyes to ward off the overstimulation.

She cracked her eyes open, testing to see if they had adjusted to the influx of light on her senses. Slowly they began to adjust, allowing her to take in more and more of her environment. A dense smoke, a mix of hydraulics and water vapor, clouded her immediate vision. So she tried moving; using muscles obviously weak from atrophy to pull herself up and over the ledge of the capsule she was in, landing on sandy ground.

Using the side of the pod as a brace, she began to lift herself up into a standing position, stopping to catch herself when her trembling threatened to cause her to collapse. No sooner had she gained her balance when she heard a voice.

"N-Nyu?"

Lucy jumped in shock at the knowledge of someone else being near. When she looked up to the source, her weak knees gave way.

"Kouta…" she managed as she slumped against the side of her vessel.

"Nyu!" Kouta shouted as he rushed to her side. All his questions and confusion were sidelined at the sight of her collapsing. Pulling her bare form into his arms, he cradled her like a newly born. "Nyu, are you alright?" he asked, concern heavy in his voice.

"Kouta, how…" she managed to get out. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to make sense of everything. "Is this heaven?" At this point, that possibility seemed as likely as any. Though how she had been allowed in was anyone's guess.

Kouta smiled at her comment. "No, Nyu, you're home." He had questions, so many questions, but for now they didn't matter. Nyu wasn't in any shape to answer them.

"Home…" she let out her own smile in spite of herself. Lucy had no idea what was going on, but decided that for the moment she didn't care. Kouta was holding her, and that's all that mattered. Closing her eyes, she snuggled further into his chest.

The pair stayed that way for a while, savoring the lost company of the other. Eventually, however, Kouta pulled slightly away from her, still holding her in his arms, but far enough away to speak. "Come on, let's get back to the inn." He suggested before standing up, careful to help Nyu keep her balance as he brought her up with him.

It was at that moment that he took the time to realize her state of undress. Oddly, he didn't feel awkward about it, he figured he had grown desensitized to it over time. However, he didn't want her to be seen going through the city like that. Luckily, Kouta had been wearing a sweater and a light cotton shirt underneath it to guard against the spring chill. Making sure Nyu could support herself without his assistance, he quickly removed the garment. She eyed him curiously as he partially disrobed, before handing her the sweater.

"Here, I figured you might want something to cover up with." He said with a light smile. It was then that Lucy noticed her clothing situation, or lack thereof. And while she had spent a good chunk of her life naked in front of people, for some reason with Kouta, she reacted very differently. Her face turned a deep crimson as she quickly snatched the article and began tugging it over her head, before her body reminded her of her weakened state and she collapsed onto her knees.

Kouta just shook his head. "Here," he said, moving behind her. "Let me help you." She fussed a bit before raising her arms, allowing him to pull the sweater over her. Carefully, he brought her back onto her feet.

"There, much better," he said, satisfied that the oversized sweater at least covered some of her modesty. "Wow, talk about déjà vu, right?" he commented, realizing the similarities to their first meeting.

"Right…" Lucy nodded, not quite sure what he was referring to, but not wishing to ask. A thought dawned on her. He was calling her Nyu. It was possible he hadn't realized that he wasn't talking to her other persona. The thought saddened Lucy, and she lowered her head slightly, hiding her eyes behind her long bangs. Kouta noticed and frowned.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked, concern evident.

"No," Lucy lied. "Nothing's wrong." She brought herself closer to him, not wanting him to see her face. "Let's just go home." She stated.

"Alright," Kouta nodded. Something was off about her, but he wasn't about to pry. Nyu was alive, and for now that's all that mattered. The two pattered along the beach as they made their way back to the Maple Inn.

* * *

Darkness had now fallen upon Kamakura as Kouta and Lucy entered through the city. Suddenly realization dawned on him, Diclonius weren't an unknown entity anymore; onlookers would easily recognize what Nyu was by her horns. And with the state of distrust people still had for them, Kouta wasn't willing to take any chances and reveal Nyu's identity.

Luckily, Kouta noticed a nearby convenience store. He was sure they would have ribbon or a hat or something to cover Nyu's horns with. Taking care to make sure there weren't any onlookers, Kouta led Nyu to the side of the building, away from any windows where people inside could look out and spot her. "Stay here for just a second," he told her. "I'm just going to head inside real quick." Lucy didn't know what reason Kouta could have to need to go in there, but chose not to argue and just nodded in agreement. That didn't stop Kouta from noticing her dejected look.

"We need something to cover up your horns. Diclonius are a bit more well-known now than they used to be." He reassured her. "I'm just going to see if they have hats or ribbons or something." She nodded again and he could tell that some of her hesitation had been eased. Satisfied, he entered the station.

A moment later, Kouta walked out with a blue wool cap. He handed it to her with a sheepish grin. "Here, I know it's not the best looking thing but it's all they had."

When Lucy took the hat into her hands she stopped in shock. It looked almost exactly like the hat Kouta had given her all those years ago. The quality was undoubtedly cheaper, it was to be expected of a convenience store, but nonetheless, the similarities were striking. She gave out a wistful smile at the memories it brought and put it on without a second thought.

With Lucy's horns now hidden, the two made their way back to the Maple Inn.

* * *

"Alright, just gotta get up the stairs and we're home." Kouta beamed. It would feel good to have Nyu back under the same roof.

Lucy let go of Kouta and took a hesitant step up the first step. When she found solid footing she grew in confidence and took another – and then fell over. Kouta was quick to grab her before she impacted the stone. "Nyu!" he let out in a semi panicked voice.

After he had made sure she was stable, Kouta put his hand to his chin in a thoughtful pose. "Hmm," he thought out loud. "Just having you hold onto me isn't going to make this much easier." He thought for a few more moments before inspiration struck him.

Lucy for her part was sitting on the steps in apprehension. Although she had been hopeful at the prospect of returning to her home, the closer they had drawn the more anxious she became. Was this really _her_ home? It had been Nyu's, sure, but had it ever been Lucy's?

Her thoughts were cut short when she suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground. She let out an audible squeak as she realized Kouta was carrying her up the steps bridal style. He gave her a sheepish smile "I can't think of a way to get you to walk up the stairs in your current situation so I'll have to carry you up." Lucy didn't respond and instead buried herself in his torso to hide her reddening face.

The two made it to the entrance and Kouta slowly set her down on her feet, making sure she was able to keep her balance. He opened the front door and ushered Lucy inside.

Checking the clock, Kouta noticed it was well past bed time for the rest of the residents. While placing his shoes on the mat he took note to make sure Mayu's were there. It wasn't that he didn't expect her to make it home, he had just grown protective of his "family" after the drama many months ago.

Noticing Lucy's increasingly brooding features he again prodded "I know you said you're fine, but are you sure there isn't anything wrong."

"Do I really belong here?" Lucy whispered, barely audible. She had to say something. She wasn't who Kouta thought she was.

"What? Of course you do." Kouta reassured, coming closer. "Nyu, this is your home." Lucy cracked, tears threatened to spill.

"Kouta, I'm not Nyu." She looked him in the eyes. He finally took notice of her features. She definitely wasn't Nyu. Nyu had kept her innocent eyes through everything she had endured. The eyes he was staring into weren't innocent, but grim with years of pain.

"Lucy…" he whispered. The one who he had met and befriended as a child, the one who had killed his father and little sister, the one who had saved his life when he had taken Kurama's bullet meant for her.

"Yes, Kouta," she turned her gaze to the floor, uncomfortable with how intently Kouta was staring at her. "I'm not Nyu, I shouldn't be he—"

"That doesn't change anything!" He cut her off. She jumped a bit at his tone and reflexively looked up at him before looking at anything but him. The fire and determination in his gaze was smoldering. She had only seen it one other time, when he had sworn vengeance for the family she slaughtered.

He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Lucy, Nyu, I don't care, you belong here. This _is_ your home."

"Kouta," the tears finally broke. "How can you sat that? After everything I've done, I shouldn't even be alive. I don't even know how I'm alive. I killed your family, I broke our promise that night right after you said you'd allow us to live together. I'm a monster." Kouta pulled her into a hug, tearing up himself.

"Because," he said in a harsh whisper, trying to keep a level voice. "Because, these last three months without Nyu, without you. They were hell. It was like losing my family all over again." He pulled back and took a breath, looking her in the eyes again. Despite his tears, he was smiling at her.

"You said it yourself, Nyu is a part of you. Just like your instincts to kill exist, so do your instincts to coexist." He took her hand in his. "I may not be able to forgive you for a long time, but at the very least I want to move forward."

Lucy's emotions swelled further and she buried herself once more in his embrace. "Kouta." She whispered. He was too good for her. What had she done to earn his kindness?

The two remained locked in the embrace for a time, the contact exchanging more than words ever could. Eventually they parted and Kouta spoke. "Come on, let's get to bed. We can talk more tomorrow." Though Lucy was reluctant to part with him, she nodded her head and the two made their way through the inn.

Kouta showed Lucy to her room, Nyu's old room, and wished her a good night. She replied in kind, but he didn't leave right away. It was as if Kouta was as reluctant to part with her as she was with him. Eventually he did however, and Lucy was alone with her thoughts.

Taking off her hat and Kouta's sweater, Lucy situated herself on the fouton, wrapping the blanket over her. Now that she had time to think, she began assessing the situation. The last thing she remembered before waking up on that pod was being near death, her body giving way under the force of entropy, the overexertion of her power. With her last bit of strength, and in defiance of the primal instinct that had begun overpowering her thoughts, she had handed Kouta Kurama's pistol, begging him to end her life.

And he had, and she had died. Yet, she had woken up in that pod that had washed ashore, feeling as though she had spent years in a coma. It was as if she had been rejected from hell and spit back upon the earth. Lucy gave a laugh at the thought. It made about as much sense as any other theory she had.

She tried to conjure up some explanation, some reason to explain her survival. But try as she might, there was nothing that could. She spent the rest of the night battling with her thoughts before an uneasy slumber took over.

* * *

A few rooms down, Kouta was finding sleep equally evasive. How had Lucy survived the events up on the Sea Candle? He had shot her, he had seen the SAT paramedic crew take what remained of her body and move it into a quarantine truck. Kurama had verified himself that Lucy was dead. Yet the woman he had just taken home was without a doubt his Lucy, his Nyu. Kouta wanted to tear his hair out in frustration. Was this some weird Diclonius power? Reincarnation? It seemed outrageous, but with some of the things he had seen in the past year, outrageous wasn't that difficult of a thing to achieve.

Then of course there was the fact that he would have to break the news to the other residents of the Inn. While Nana was abroad with Kurama; Nozomi, Mayu and Yuka still inhabited the place. While he was sure the three would happy to have their friend back, it would nonetheless be a difficult situation. All three of them had been up in the tower with him the night he had shot Lucy, and her return may open wounds that had barely started healing.

Nevertheless, Kouta felt they had to know. Even if he wished to hide Lucy away, with how many people the Inn housed, it would be almost impossible, and that would be before Nana came back and sensed her return.

Kouta groaned and shifted in bed. The best he could do is try to get some sleep and hope that the morning brought answers.

* * *

When morning did come, Kouta had gotten much less sleep than he otherwise would have liked. He had been woken by Yuka who was insistent on making sure he kept an appropriate sleep schedule for the upcoming semester. Deciding it would be best to get things over with sooner than later, he rounded up Mayu, Nazomi and Yuka and asked them to wait in the living room for him.

Now he stood in front of Lucy's room. He knew that no matter how he approached this it was going to be a baffling reveal for the three. He still barely understood it himself. Sleep hadn't brought the answers he sought, and he still didn't know how to approach the impending reveal.

Sighing, Kouta lightly rapped on Lucy's door. "Hey, you up?" He asked through the paper entrance. A moment and some rustling later and the door opened, revealing a very sleep deprived Lucy wrapped up in her blanket. "Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" He apologized.

"No," she assured. "I barely slept." Kouta let out a laugh.

"It's somehow comforting to know I wasn't the only one," then he got a bit more serious. "We should tell the others you're back." He said, referring to the three other occupants of the inn.

Lucy sighed. She figured as much would happen. That didn't mean she was looking forward to it any more. "Yeah, I guess we should get this over with." She agreed. Then she remembered why she was wrapped up in the blanket. Suddenly she became a little more reserved.

"Hey, Kouta. Do you mind if I borrow some clothes. I'm kind of on short supply at the moment." She tried averting his gaze. She didn't know why the request felt so embarrassing, but it did.

Kouta just laughed. "Yeah, clothes might help." He excused himself and grabbed some garments, a large T-shirt and a pair of boxers that worked well as shorts for Lucy. She closed her door to get changed quick and then met him in the hallway.

"Alright, let's do this." She said more to herself than him.

Kouta was the first to enter the living room. Yuka, Nozomi, and Mayu – with Wanta perched in her lap – were all seated at the table waiting for Kouta. Yuka noticed him and perked up. "Oh, Kouta, what did you want to talk to us about?" Mayu and Nozomi nodded in agreement.

Kouta scratched the back of his head for a moment, trying to articulate what he wanted to say, before simply replying, "Someone found their way back home." He stepped to the side, revealing Lucy to the three girls.

Surprise was evident in all of their features as Lucy stood there, feelings slightly uncomfortable under their gazes; it was as if they were seeing a ghosts. For all intents and purposes, they were. Yuka was the first to say anything, "Nyu?" Then she took a closer look. "No… Lucy. But, but how?"

Kouta led her to the table and they both took a seat. "I'm not quite sure myself," he admitted. "I found her while walking down the beach last night. She was inside of some weird capsule looking device." Then he turned to look at Lucy, who was busy looking at a very interesting groove in the table. His features softened.

"I'm not quite sure she knows how, either."

"But… we saw you die. How could you even…" Yuka struggled for the words. "I mean, I know there's a lot about Diclonius that are, well, supernatural. But defying death?"

Lucy grit her teeth, not knowing how to respond. She was being asked questions she didn't know the answers to. "I don't know." She finally breathed out. Looking up to meet Yuka's gaze, the girl could see the torrent of confusion and helplessness in Lucy's eyes. "The last thing I remember before yesterday was being up in that tower. Of dying in that tower. Then… nothing. An eternity of nothing. Then I woke up in that pod that Kouta found me in."

Mayu finally interjected, having had time to wrap her head around the situation. "I don't understand how Miss Lucy survived, and it's obvious she doesn't either. But does it really matter? If Miss Lucy is back, shouldn't that be enough?" Wanta yapped as if in agreement.

Nozomi nodded. "I may not have known Lucy well, but Nyu was a great friend. If she's returned to us then that's enough for me. The reasons are secondary."

Lucy blinked in confusion. The support and acceptance of Kouta, while invaluable, was in line with how she knew him to act. But these others, who she had barely known, showing such an outpouring of kindness was unfamiliar to her. Of course they had known Nyu, the other her, but for Lucy such compassion was more or less a foreign concept.

Yuka surveyed the room as each girl gave their testament and slowly nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right. I don't mean to be to be rude, I'm just confused is all." She returned her gaze to the now visible shaken Lucy. "It's good to have you back."

Smiling, Kouta put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Welcome home." Lucy stared up at him, struggling to respond. She did, however.

"I'm home."

* * *

(Somewhere in the forests of Hokkaido)

Brush gave way to the bare dirt as a lone girl trekked through the forest. Hovering behind her was the carcass of a large bear, the fruits of her hunt. Coupled with the efforts of the other hunters, it would be enough to provide for her hive.

Living out here in complete detachment from society was difficult, but necessary. The humans saw them as the enemy, so they had to hide; bide their time, build up their strength and numbers. One day they would get back, take their revenge for all the sisters killed. But for now, it was best if the world never knew they existed.

Besides, she could feel her power growing every day. As her body adjusted to her new role in society, she knew it was only a matter of time. If the power Lucy had displayed on that night three months ago was any indication, soon even the Vector Attack Crafts would be child's play to deal with. Those abominations that desecrated the bodies of her dead sisters angered her to no end. But they would receive justice.

She had just about made it home when something struck her sixth sense. Something that challenged her power.

She grit her teeth. "Lucy."

 _ **Fortsetzung folgt…**_


	3. Chapter II: Geburtstag

AN: Apologies for the extremely late update. I gut stuck trying to figure out the first third of this chapter, and then Dark Souls III came out and... I kind lost track of time. Luckily, Perturbator's new album "The Uncanny Valley" came out, and while I was trying to figure out the story to the album, my mind wandered to Elfen Leid. Granted, EL is more biopunk than cyberpunk. Then I remembered how late this chapter was and finally buckled down, so thank Perts for that.

The chapter is fairly rough, but I didn't want to sit on it any longer. Pacing issues will either be fixed later or stand as a monument to my sins as a lazy author.

* * *

 **Chapter II: Geburtstag**

Yuka should be happy that Lucy was home, she really should. Yet, while she did find some happiness in the return of a piece of their family, she couldn't squelch the other feelings that came with it. Nyu had been a strange yet innocent person, always cheerful and kind. Lucy, Lucy was a threat, in more ways than one.

The entirety of the Maple Inn's occupants had received quite a debriefing on everything that had occurred leading up to and including that night three months ago. They had been informed of the diclonius, Lucy's role as the queen of the new species, and of Kakuzawa's plans to have them inherit the earth.

And while Yuka didn't buy into the dogma of the diclonius being a species of mindless killers – Nana and Nyu were proof enough otherwise – it didn't change the fact that, like humans, some _could_ be. And Lucy had fit the bill.

Kouta had confided in her about his past with the girl, and knowing that, Yuka wasn't completely comfortable with having Lucy back. Not that she didn't like the girl. Despite the change in personality, she could definitely see the similarities between her and Nyu. That was a double edged sword, however. There were parts of Nyu she definitely didn't like, all having to do with her cousin.

Yuka stopped the thought before it could go any further. Her concerns were with the physical threat Lucy could potentially pose, that was it. Once Yuka had convinced herself once more, she returned to her task.

Which currently involved taking Lucy shopping. The diclonius was, for obvious reasons, lacking in personal items as everything they had used to have for Nyu they had parted with some time ago. Even right now she was borrowing an outfit from Yuka, consisting of a beige sweater and a pair of navy pants that definitely didn't fit her properly. So Yuka had volunteered to take her out.

How could she not? Nozomi wasn't yet comfortable enough chaperone someone in public where she would be the one to deal with cashiers and clerks, Mayu was too young, and there was no way she was going to let Kouta do it.

So here they stood, in a quaint little clothing bouquet with Lucy awkwardly looking through different pieces of clothing while Yuka stood a fair distance away.

Lucy for her part struggled through the unusual experience. She had understandably never done any "real" clothes shopping, so being expected to pick out her wardrobe by herself was proving more challenging than it would to an ordinary girl. She had briefly considered asking Yuka for advice, but quickly squashed that idea. Yuka, in a very roundabout way of thinking, had been the straw that had broken her back so many years ago. And while Lucy admitted she had been completely at fault for the events that followed, and even understood why Kouta had lied to her about his cousin's gender, some petty part of her couldn't help but spite Yuka.

Fed up with trying to figure out what she thought would look good (more specifically, what she hoped Kouta would think looked good), she began eyeing the other patrons of the shop, taking mental notes on their appearance. When she thought she had a decent idea of what was considered appropriate clothing, she returned to her search.

Minutes passed as Yuka sat on a cushioned seat in the store, staring at the ceiling as she idly kicked her legs back and forth. It wasn't until she heard a quiet "ahem" that she shook out of her daze, looking up to see Lucy holding a rather full shopping bag. "All set?" Yuka asked, to which Lucy quietly nodded.

The two made their way back to the Inn in relative silence, an air of discomfort surrounding them. Yuka opened the door and gave out a "We're home" announcement as she kicked off her shoes.

The two parted ways and Lucy made her way to her room. Setting the bag down on her floor, she began shuffling through her new garments. Thoughtfully picking out an outfit consisting of a light blue blouse, light skirt, and thigh highs, she sorted the rest away in her dresser. Dressing up, she took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Was this considered attractive? Would Kouta think so?

' _What does Kouta think of me?'_ She thought. The night he found her on the beach he didn't reject her. No, he _welcomed_ her. Despite all the pain Lucy had brought him, he still accepted her. _'Of course he would, that's why you fell in love with him.'_

But how did he feel about her? Certainly he didn't fear her. If he hadn't forgiven her, he at least didn't hate her. She'd even go so far as to say he still cared about her. But as to how deeply, she didn't know. Lucy sighed, running her hands through her long pink hair. She had never had to think about these things before, her hierarchy of needs kept her from worrying too much about things but her survival. But now that she found herself relatively secure, she couldn't help but think. What future did she have in the Inn? And who was involved in that future?

Deciding that her brooding was accomplishing nothing, she shook her head and turned away from her mirror. Gathering the loaner clothing to return to Yuka, she stepped out of her room.

* * *

Kouta growled in frustration looking at the paper in front of him. Having barely passed last year's courses due to the drama at the time, he had decided to redouble his efforts to make it up this year. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as he took another glance at the calculus practice guide in front of him he had second thoughts.

Currently seated at the chabudai in the kitchen, Kouta's attention was thankfully distracted by a whistling teapot. He looked up just in time to see Yuka grab it and set the pot atop a serving tray, carefully bringing it to the table Kouta was seated at.

"Ah, thanks," he nodded to Yuka as she poured tea for the two of them, taking a sip and sighing in content. Yuka nodded and took a seat next to him, looking at the problem in front of him.

"Do you need help with that?" She offered, sipping from her own cup of tea. He shook his head.

"Thank you, but no. If I ever want to understand it, I need to figure it out on my own," looking back at the problem he gave a sheepish grin. "Though that might take a little longer than I was hoping."

Yuka sighed at his stubbornness. She didn't see how taking help made one less able to understand something, but to each their own. Maybe Kouta just learned differently. She closed her eyes to inhale the scent of the freshly brewed tea before taking another slow sip. Warm tea on a beautiful spring afternoon with her cousin; the scene was picture perfect.

She was broken out of her reverie by the light tapping of footsteps. Looking up she noticed Lucy quietly enter the kitchen. "Oh Lucy, hello." Yuka greeted calmly, if slightly annoyed.

Kouta, engrossed in the problem, hadn't noticed the newcomer until his cousin had spoken. He momentarily looked up and gave Lucy a bright smile. "Hey Lucy, you look nice," Kouta commented on her appearance. "I'm guessing you got those from your trip with Yuka?"

"Oh… uhm… yeah…" Lucy murmured quietly, looking away. His approval of her outfit had momentarily distracted her from her goal.

"Care to join us for some tea?" Yuka's words broke Lucy out of her trance. "I made plenty."

"Oh, uhm… thanks. I actually just wanted to give you your clothes back," She admitted, handing over the neatly folded bundle she had been holding in her arms. Yuka took them with a slight bow of thanks. She thought for a moment and then continued. "But some tea does sound nice." Nodding, Yuka got up and grabbed another cup for Lucy, pouring a portion of the brew for her. Lucy gave a quiet thank you and seated herself at the table.

The three stayed quiet for a moment, sipping their tea and, in Kouta's case, making occasional markings on his paper. Eventually, Kouta slammed his pencil on the paper and threw his arms up. "DONE!" he exclaimed joyously. Yuka just sighed.

"Let me take a look at it before you get too carried away." She said, stealthily snatching the paper from him. Kouta didn't pay her any mind, instead taking a celebratory sip of his tea. He let out a content sigh as the warmth worked its way through his body.

"Hey Lucy, when's your birthday?" Kouta asked the diclonius, lifting her gaze away from her cup of tea and towards his.

"Birthday?" She asked, more of herself than of him. She knew the term, if more from her time at the orphanage than anywhere else; the research facility was definitely not interested in keeping track of such dates.

"Yeah, you know. The day you were born." He replied lamely. She shook her head and gave a light smile.

"I know what a birthday is, Kouta. It's just…" she bit her lip, embarrassed at the admission. "I don't know when mine is."

"What? How could a person not know their birthday!" he exclaimed loudly, before catching a glare coming from Yuka. "Err, not to be rude. It's just strange is all."

"I'm sorry." Lucy looked away from him in a mixture of shame and embarrassment. Kouta shook his head.

"Don't be. I understand your life hasn't been the most, ah, normal," was the word he decided upon. "Please don't apologize for things you can't control." He finished, giving her a smile that melted her heart.

Their moment was promptly interrupted Yuka. "Hmm, look at that," his cousin let out in mock disbelief, tapping her hand on his prep calculus paper. "You got them right." She gave him a wry smile.

"Of course I did, would you expect anything less?" he grinned right back.

"You don't want to know the answer to that." She waved him off, taking a sip of her own tea.

All the while Lucy played the quiet observer. This casual chatter was… pleasant, she decided. Was this the life her other self had enjoyed? Sitting with others who cared about you, enjoying their company? She could only assume these were the human pleasures the "researchers" at the Institute so adamantly stated she was unable to appreciate.

She gave herself a victory over them, a pleasant smile forming on her face as she took another sip of her tea.

* * *

And so on life went. Lucy kept to the inn for the most part, disinterested in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Instead she took on chores at the inn to fill her days, intent on contributing just like the rest of the inn residents.

"Hey Lucy," Kouta's voice rang out one spring afternoon. "You busy?"

Lucy looked down at the floor she had been sweeping, mostly just to keep busy. It looked sufficiently clean so she responded. "Not really, why?"

"Good," Kouta's voice came out as he entered the hallway from the central garden. "Then we're going out." He stated, heading for the doorway.

"Uhm, okay." Lucy dumbly followed, a little confused. "What for, exactly?" Kouta just gave her a grin.

"Secret."

Taking a moment to put on her horn-concealing ribbons, Lucy followed Kouta out into Kamakura.

* * *

Lucy huffed as she took another step up a rather large set of stairs. Her body had yet to completely recover from the atrophy of stasis in that life pod. "Explain to me why we need to take all these stairs." She gave her objection to her hiking – yes this was hiking – companion.

Kouta simply smiled, one step behind her to make sure she would remain stable. "I already told you, secret." Lucy turned around to glare back at him. Lifting her gaze up at the world below, she had to admit it was a nice view. Being able to see such a vivid picture of Kamakura gave the trip some purpose. It still didn't completely justify making the journey.

As they reached the end of the stairs, the Jouju-in Temple slowly peaked over the top. Noticing the number of other visitors, Lucy visibly shrunk. Noticing this, Kouta took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Almost there." He assured, leading her through the temple.

The two reached a room of the temple with the banner "Reserved for The Maple Inn" hanging overhead. Lucy's curiosity heightened as the two entered the room. The first thing she noticed was how dark it was, the window had been blocked for some reason. She was about to ask Kouta why when he flipped on the light.

"SURPRISE!" came a chorus of voices as the heads of Yuka, Mayu, and Nozomi popped out of a very strategically placed couch. Lucy jumped back in shock, her eyes scanning the room before landing on Kouta's, searching for an answer.

"Happy birthday." He smiled at her, stunning Lucy. He mistook her stunned silence for annoyance and quickly fumbled out an explanation. "I mean, I doubt this is your real birthday. But it is the anniversary of the day we first met you on the beach. I mean, I guess it was Nyu, not Lucy, but I'd like to think it's the same. And I guess it's not the exact day, I couldn't remember the exact day we met and it seemed close enough, it was about the time school started last year and—" Kouta's rambling was cut off by Lucy throwing herself into his chest.

"Thank you." She let out, face still buried. Kouta's face colored considerably as he looked everywhere in the room but at the girl holding him.

"Ah, yeah. You're welcome," he replied. "But it wasn't just my idea. Everyone pitched in." Kouta referred to the rest of the inns residence. When Lucy had left after tea with Kouta and Yuka, he had commented about how awful it must be to not have a birthday to celebrate. Yuka had made an offhanded remark about Nyu had been 'born' the day they found her on the beach and the idea took off from there. Kouta and Yuka had sealed the location, Mayu had made the cake, and Nozomi had prepared decorations and activities.

Lucy was pulled off of an increasingly embarrassed Kouta by Mayu's small arms. "Miss Lucy, come on," she encouraged excitedly. "You have to blow out your candles and make a wish." The younger girl brought Lucy to the table in the center of the room where Nozomi was lighting the candles of a cake. Lucy sat awkwardly on the couch while everyone gathered around.

"Uh, I've never done this before so I'm not quite sure what to do." She confessed awkwardly to the group.

"Oh it's simple," Mayu wasted no time in explaining. "You have to think of a wish in your head, and you can't tell anyone otherwise it won't come true, and then take a deep breath and blow out all the candles. If you don't blow them all out your wish won't come true either."

Lucy slowly nodded and looked back at the cake. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, thinking up a wish.

" _I want to live peacefully with Kouta."_

She blew as hard as she could, trying her hardest to put every candle out. She had almost ran out of breath with one flame remaining defiant until a short huff put it out. She looked up curiously to see Kouta's sheepish grin looking back at her. "Sorry, just looked like you could use some help." Not waiting for her reply he began pulling out the candles as Nozomi reached for a knife to cut the cake. They had a days' worth of festivities planned, and Kouta was set on making sure she enjoyed every second of it.

* * *

The group spent the entire afternoon into the late evening enjoying various activities. They played an assortment of boardgames, party games, and even dabbled in some karaoke with Nozomi expectedly stealing the show.

The sun began to set behind the mountain line as the group made their way back to the inn, still in high spirits from the day of fun. Entering the doorway, Kouta was surprised to see two new pairs of shoes at the entrance. "We're home." Mayu called out, paying no mind to the change.

It was then that Lucy began to sense something. Another diclonius. "Papa wait!" A voice shouted as a figure entered the room. Lucy's eyes widened.

"You." She bit out at Chief Kurama. If the chief was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. Before he could reply another person rounded the corner. Nana ran to her papa to warn him that she felt another diclonius' presence before her eyes widened at the sight of the group who had just returned to the inn, and who was in that group.

"L-Lucy?"

* * *

(Somewhere in the forests of Hokkaido)

A small fire burnt deep in the forest, surrounded by makeshift huts. Beside the fire sat an enclave of pink haired girls, none appearing to be older than 14, save for one. This particular girl sat at the head of the group, easily distinguished as their leader. While the rest chatted and ate from the large stag that had previously been roasted, she quietly brooded.

Lucy was back. There was no mistaking that presence. Even more than that, she felt the change; her power that had quickly been maturing, much faster than any of the other girls before. Now she could physically feel it slowing. The change was bad, she needed the strength if she was going to carve a world for her kind. She grit her teeth. Why now, at such a time?

"Queen Lola, is everything alright?" another diclonius quietly asked. The leader, Lola turned her gaze away from the fire and onto the girl next to her.

"No," she admitted. "It isn't." The other diclonius gave her an inquisitive eye, so she continued. "Lucy has returned. I can sense her."

"Wha-?" The other diclonius gasped, audibly enough to catch the attention of the others around the fire. "Well, isn't that a good thing? Maybe she can help us."

"No," Lola shook her head. "Lucy never wanted what's best for us as a race. And with her back, I can feel my power slowing. Her existence challenges mine."

Slowly nodding, the other diclonius took in the information. "Then I guess we have to confront her." She finally concluded.

"Yeah," Lola agreed. "We can't let her stop us from creating our world."

* * *

"So, who feels like explaining what's going on first?" Kurama broke the silence as the two groups looked awkwardly at each other.

"Well, to be honest, none of us really know what's going on either." Kouta responded, scratching his head. "I just sort of found her on the beach a few days ago."

"Uh huh," Kurama replied, taking a glance at Lucy. She didn't appear to be hiding anything from him. "And how exactly did you find her?"

"I was walking down the beach one night when I noticed a sort of pod wash ashore. When I went to go check it out, it opened up and Lucy stepped outside of it." Kouta explained. "That's honestly how it happened. And Lucy doesn't remember anything between that night on the Sea Candle and waking up in there."

"Hmm…" Kurama scratched his chin, wracking his brain for possible answers. He was sure Lucy was dead. He had watched Kouta kill her, he had seen to her cremation personally. Every shred of her, every scrap of DNA had been disintegrated. Lucy had surely been killed. But then who was the woman in front of him. She was the spitting image of the diclonius queen and, if Kouta was correct, even had her memories.

"Wait," Nana spoke. "Papa, do you think it's a pod like the one you put me in when you took me out of the research facility?"

Kurama considered it. "It would make sense, at least explain the pod's origin. It doesn't explain how Lucy got in it. The facility sunk before she died. No one could have taken her back there after the fact."

"Does it matter?" Kouta interjected. "Lucy is alive, that's really all I care about. The how is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned."

Kurama nodded, but for different reasons. "Yes, the how doesn't really matter. Lucy is alive. And that presents some challenges." Kurama scratched his head, sighing at the complication. "With anti-diclonius sentiment still low, the world knowing that their queen – the only diclonius capable of defeating the Vector Walkers, or spreading the vector virus – is alive, it'll set back my work quite a bit.

"Still… even if I was capable of getting rid of her, what kind of proponent would I be for peace among the races if I went and tried getting rid of a diclonius who is trying to live peacefully with humans?" Lucy's head perked at the words.

"You… trying to promote race relations?" She scoffed. "That's a good joke."

"Lucy…" Kouta cautioned. He didn't want the two arguing. He should have told her about Kurama and Nana and the work they were doing, but he hadn't figured they would return to the inn so soon. And the talk about the current political climate involving the diclonius was a difficult one he wasn't sure how to approach.

"I'm not here to start a moral debate, I'm aware of my sins." Kurama stated. "I want to move forward and build a future for Nana. A future where Mariko could have lived happily. And one where you can stay at this inn in peace. If you can't forgive me, at least put our past aside, so we can have that future."

Lucy grit her teeth. "So what? You say some nice words and I'm supposed to forget about everything that you did to us?" She spit out. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to so bad. The pain he had brought her through the years begged her to hold onto the grudge. But what kind of person would she be if she was incapable of forgiving his sins while accepting Kouta's forgiveness of hers?

"Lucy, I meant what I said that day. We did everything we could to save her." Lucy looked up at Kurama in shock. He had never acknowledged that day after giving Lucy the news of her friend's fate. "I may have been a heartless bastard, the institute may not have valued diclonius life. But it did value human life. And we did try to save her."

Lucy clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. Numbly, she walked forward, past Kurama. Before leaving his hearing range she whispered "I believe you," and took off for her room.

Kouta sighed, his shoulders slumping. It had been such a good day too, he didn't want it ending on a sour note for her. Resigned, Kouta took off after the diclonius. He had some explaining to do.

The rest of the room remained in awkward silence after the tense moment. Eventually Mayu spoke up. "D-does anyone want tea?"

* * *

"Lucy?" the diclonius could hear Kouta's voice from the other side of the paper door as he lightly tapped on the wall. "Can I come in?"

She wanted to be alone to brood, but no matter how hard she tried Lucy couldn't refuse him. Getting off her futon, Lucy made her way to the door to let Kouta in. "H-hi." He offered with a reserved smile. No matter how dark of a mood she was in, seeing Kouta's concerned face, worried for _her,_ was enough to break it. Lucy muttered her own hi and let him into her room.

Taking a seat on the floor, Kouta waited for Lucy to return to her futon before he began speaking. "I suppose I should have explained what's been going on in the world. About Mr. Kurama and Nana and such. It's just… I wasn't quite sure how, I guess," He looked up shyly. "I know that's a lame excuse."

Lucy shook her head. "No Kouta, it's fine. I don't blame you. If there was anything I wanted to know I could have asked. It's just that… I've hated Kurama for a long time, for how he treated me at the facility, sure. But more than that, for what happened to Aiko." She looked up to see Kouta's confused expression. ' _I suppose I haven't shared that story with him.'_ And so she did. About the second friend she had made after him, of her family, of how her dad had abused her, how he had died, how they had ran away from the police, and of how she had died.

"Looking back on it, I know it wasn't directly Kurama's fault, but even so. I wanted something to be mad at, some tangible thing to hate. He became that thing." Lucy admitted.

"I think... I think I understand," Kouta replied after a taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "Wanting something to direct your anger at is natural, I guess. _Human,_ even." He deftly slid closer to her.

"To lose the only person who cared about you, to be locked up like some animal…" Kouta brought his arms around her, enveloping Lucy in a warm hug. "You're a strong person, Lucy. I don't know how you did it." He whispered.

Lucy went rigid for a second before melting into him, wrapping her own arms around Kouta. _'It's because of you,'_ she wanted to say. _'The memory of you, the hope we might meet again, it's what kept me going.'_

The two remained in each other's embrace for some time, finding some small solace in the contact before a light yawn escaped Lucy's lips. Letting out a slight laugh Kouta broke it off, earning a dissatisfied moan from Lucy. "I suppose it's been quite the eventful day for you, huh?" He gently patted her head, standing up. "We can talk about everything else tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep?"

Lucy let out a pout but didn't argue. The two said goodnight and Kouta returned to his room.

* * *

That morning Lucy woke up to the light sound of the morning news. Yawning, she made her way to the kitchen, hoping tea had been brewed. As she passed the living room she noticed Kurama situated in front of the TV. She momentarily stopped in her mission to watch the new program that was running.

"We now take you live to the U.N. Floor, where JSSDF General Takao Kanbe is addressing the council." A reporter on the TV stated. The screen shifted to an aged general in a decorated uniform standing at a podium, audibly clearing his throat."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the UN," he spoke in heavily accented English, Japanese captions providing translation for his words. "I stand here today not on behalf of just the people of Japan, but of the human race to ask, what can we do about the credible threat to our existence as a species? For the past four months we have defended against the very real diclonius threat and for the most part have been met with great success. Thanks to the heroics of the SAT along with cutting edge technology provided by Saseba, we succeeded not only in thwarting the plans of the late Director Kakuzawa, but also in stopping the assault of the diclonius on our cities, our citizens, our _families._

"Still, there are those out there who would sympathize with these monsters, ex-employees of Kakuzawa's who would say we should try to coexist with them. That the very beings that casually kill humans are somehow innocent, docile people? It's a ridiculous notion. The diclonius have already claimed tens of thousands of lives. If we allow them to assimilate into our populace, how long before they claim thousands more? Is that a risk we're willing to take?

"I stand here, asking for the authority to create a unified defense force, one backed by the power and authority of the entire world, in order to combat this evil wherever it pops up. An Anti Diclonius Defence Force capable of responding to credible threats around the world, backed by the most cutting edge of equipment and manned by the bravest and most capable soldiers this world has to offer." The General waited a moment to let his words circulate through the floor. "How many lives are we willing to sacrifice with inaction? I implore the UN to take a stand and say _not one more._ Thank you." General Kanabe stepped down from the podium, allowing the UN representative to stand back up.

"Thank you, General. The motion on the floor is to approve the creation and deployment of a UN backed Anti Diclonius Defence Force. We shall have an hour debate following standard procedures before taking a short recess. Representatives, you may begin taking the floor when you are ready."

Kurama switched the channel, not wanting to hear what would be said. The general was good at giving invigorating speeches, Kurama was sure this would be an uphill battle for him. "Well, it seems my job just got a lot harder."

 _ **Fortsetzung folgt…**_

* * *

AN: Fun fact. I got the name Lola from an old video I watched in my German class called _Lola Rent_ featuring a redheaded female protagonist. The German and similar hair color just came to mind when I was thinking for a name for her.


	4. Chapter III: Namensvetter

AN: I think I'm going to stop pretending I'm going to put these out in a timely manner, it's obviously not happening. Regardless, here's the next installment. I tried addressing one of the main things I accidentally skipped over in previous chapters (one of the problems with not outlining this story properly), the "love-triangle" with Kouta and Lucy and Kouta and Yuka. I'll probably add in some more to previous chapters once I've finished the story and do a revise, but for now hopefully this can suffice. **  
**

* * *

 **Chapter III: Namensvetter**

Mayu hummed happily as she went through her daily routine of cleaning the beach. She had went a bit earlier than usual, but that was fine. To be honest she just wanted to be out of the house. With both Lucy and Kurama back, she was keen on avoiding any drama that might occur.

Hopefully Kouta could keep them in check, and by them she meant Lucy.

Wiping her brow of any forming sweat, she swung her head back and forth lazily, surveying the beach before resting her gaze on the endless waters. "It's a lot cleaner now, right?" She said out loud to no one in particular.

' _If that person were here, I wonder what he would say to praise me,'_ she thought wistfully. _'He probably wouldn't. He'd probably say "It's still the same damn dirty sea."'_ She internally giggled at the mental imitation of his voice. Still, she couldn't help the tear that began to form at his memory.

"It's still the same damn dirty sea."

Mayu's eyes widened. That voice, she hadn't imagined it, had she?

"But still," the voice continued, sand crunching beneath heavy footsteps as it grew closer. "You tried your best, didn't ya?"

Mayu dropped her trash bag, turning around to face the source. She dared not hope it could be.

There stood Bando, his trademark grin splashed across his face. "What are you surprised about, stupid? I thought I told you that _I_ can never die."

Mayu darted for him in a heartbeat, ensnaring the ex-soldier in the strongest hug her arms could muster as she let out all her pent up emotions.

* * *

"W-what was that?" Lucy couldn't help but vocalize her confusion. Kurama turned to acknowledge the new voice before turning back around, heaving a heavy sigh.

"That – was the parroting of an old man whose life's duty is to make my work impossible." Kurama let out wistfully. "I'd almost admire his dedication if he didn't piss me off so much."

Lucy shook her head. "No, not that. I mean, I don't understand…" she trailed off trying to find the right words. "He's talking about creating a task force to hunt down diclonius. He talked like there was a war going on. Who is he? And what did he even mean?"

Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose. Had Kouta not explained the past four months to her? The older man wasn't entirely sure how stable and docile the queen diclonius was, and certainly didn't want to risk setting her off by explaining what had happened since her 'death.'

Lucy, picking up on his hesitation, spoke up. "I don't plan on starting anything, I just want to know what to expect out there."

Taking a deep breath, Kurama began. "The man you saw on the TV was General Takao Kanbe of the Japanese Self Defence Force. Four months ago he was Colonel Kanabe, but after Saseba assaulted the Research Institute and knowledge of what had been going on there began to go public, panic started setting in. Add onto that the fact that the assault had let loose scores of captive diclonius, and you have the beginnings of a mass crisis.

"The Japanese government, of course, pinned everything on Kakuzawa and declared war on 'the diclonius threat.'" Kurama chuckled slightly. "They called it a war, but it was more akin to a purge. With the Vector Attack Crafts, the already outnumbered diclonius were cannon fodder. They were able to kill humans, sure. And the less thoughtful ones did just that, attacked indiscriminately. They didn't last long. The remaining, smarter diclonius fell back on guerilla tactics, attacking specific targets." He paused, frowning at the recollection. "One such attack was on a meeting of the joint chiefs of staff of the JSDF.

"No one quite knows how she got in, the VACs have radar that can pinpoint the location of any nearby diclonius. Regardless, about two months ago during a public demo of the latest iteration of the VACs, one diclonius managed to stage an attack, killing not only the Minister of Defense, but the then acting Admiral and General of the JSDF.

"It was labeled the greatest act of terror on Japanese soil that had ever taken place. In the confusion, Colonel Kanabe pulled out his gun and shot the girl himself. That moment earned him his new rank. Using his new position at the head of the JSDF ground forces, he began pushing for more and more extreme measures to weed out the hiding diclonius.

"There hasn't been a reported incident of diclonius activity in about a month. And with a vaccine for the vector virus having been fully distributed to the population since then it would be safe to say any remaining 'diclonius threat' is nonexistent." Kurama grimaced. "I had hoped that with humanity holding all the cards, we might be able to reach a point where we could negotiate some kind of peace for the remaining diclonius.

"But the General is intent on continuing his purge. And he seems extraordinarily capable of playing to the public's fears." Kurama finished. He waited a moment for Lucy to respond, but she remained statuesque, the tilt of her head causing her bangs to shroud her face.

"So that's it, huh?" Lucy finally managed to say, the edge clearly evident in her voice. "Humanity's hunted us to near extinction but we're still somehow the boogymen."

Kurama sighed. So far her reaction wasn't awful, but he could tell that this conversation was sitting on the head of a pin; it could turn sour any second if he didn't choose his words carefully. "It's more complicated than that. Humans individually can be quite smart. In groups, however, we become considerably less so."

"And now we pay for the father's sins, huh?" Lucy finally raised her gaze to meet his, anger bubbling in her eyes. "None of us asked to be born this way, you know. To be freaks whose very existence is seen as a threat."

' _Of course not.'_ Kurama thought, thinking back to Nana, to Mariko. To his wife's dying wish. Still… "Since when did the rest of your race become of any concern to you? Last I recall you didn't care about any of the other diclonius." He knew he was risking setting off the bomb, but Kurama's curiosity begged for answers. Lucy had never shown any interest in what happened to other diclonuis, this change of attitude warranted some investigation.

Lucy bit her tongue, turning away from Kuruma's scrutinous gaze. "I don't…" she mumbled out.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Lucy. You can care about your kind," Kurama let out in his most casual voice. _'Tiptoe the edge, just don't cross it.'_ He mentally reminded himself.

"Tsk, think what you want." Lucy let out, turning and leaving for her room, paying no mind to the tea she had come for in the first place. So caught up in her own thoughts, Lucy didn't even notice nor acknowledge Kouta as she passed him in the hallway.

"Oh, Lucy." He murmured in shock as she strode for her room. The diclonius paid him no mind as she entered her room, closing the door behind her.

Kouta scratched his face in minor shock at what just happened. Had Lucy just ignored him? Not that he expected her undivided attention, but it came as quite a surprise to the boy and definitely a first. Confused, he made for the direction she just left, finding Kurama in stoic silence.

"Ah, Kurama," Kouta greeted. "Do you know what's going on with Lucy?"

Kurama ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "What happened, is I just had to tell Lucy about what happened in the four months she missed." That alone told Kouta all he needed. "More specifically, about the JSDF and the 'diclonius war.'

"You know, Kouta, I really hoped that would have been something you would have gone through with her. I think she would have reacted a lot better hearing it from you." Kouta grimaced; he knew he should have. But he also knew it would have upset Lucy. Obviously it had. Kurama picked up on his body language and was able to guess his thoughts.

"Kouta, I understand where you're coming from," Kurama continued. "You want to protect her. The outside world is harsh towards diclonius. I get that better than anyone, except those diclonius. There isn't a day that I don't worry about what might happen to Nana. If she wasn't as far developed in her power as she is I wouldn't even entertain the thought of bringing her along with me. But Kouta – you and me, we can't protect them from the world. We aren't strong enough. What we can do, is protect them from themselves."

Kouta scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean? Protect them from themselves?"

"Lucy, hell most diclonius for that matter, are somewhat mentally unstable. Living a life of constant experimentation and inhumane treatment will do that to you. From the past that you've told me the two of you share, you bring some sense of stability to her life. Like I do for Nana." Kouta nodded his head, starting to understand what Kurama was saying.

"There are two things Lucy cares about. Self-preservation, and you." Kurama stated as if it was a fact as fundamental as the atom. "Judging from four months ago, I'd say you rank higher on that totem pole." And Kouta couldn't deny it. Hell, he had used it against her, to get her to stop fighting the world.

"You can't control how the world reacts to Lucy. What you _can_ control is how Lucy reacts to the world." Kurama finished, deciding to remain quiet and let Kouta process.

"I understand…" Kouta eventually replied. "I get it but… why can't there be more, why can't I do _more?"_ He briefly flashed back to the night the Inn was assaulted by that scientist and the Mariko clones. He remembered how _powerless_ he felt. How utterly incapable he was of doing anything.

Kurama sighed. "I ask myself the same question every day. But until you find the answer, do what you _can."_

Kouta finally nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he conceded. "I should go talk to her, shouldn't I?"

Kurama gave Kouta a faint smile. "I can't tell you how to use your power. Only you can."

"Thak you, Kurama." Giving another nod and a smile to match, Kouta left the room, following the same path Lucy took.

Kurama heaved a sigh, the talks with Lucy and then Kouta leaving him mentally exhausted. Maybe another cup of tea was in order.

* * *

Lucy laid face down on her futon, head buried in her pillow as she let out muffled grumbles. She didn't know why the conversation with Kurama had upset her. It _shouldn't_ have upset her. Nevertheless, she found herself brooding in her room once again. It was becoming a bad habit.

' _What do I care for the other diclonius?'_ she tried to reason. They mattered little to her, she repeated to herself over and over. Even so, the thought of her race being hunted down caused a great deal of turmoil. The fact that it brought her turmoil just frustrated her even more.

Her brooding was interrupted by a soft knock outside her door. Probably Kurama, trying to reconcile. She had little interest.

"Lucy, are you in there?" came Kouta's hesitant voice. Her head perked up just a little bit. She wanted to ignore him too, wanted to just forget the outside world, forget the events that made her so unreasonably confused. But even as she thought that, her body lifted itself up, as she slowly pattered towards the door. Lucy couldn't ignore him. Not Kouta.

Slowly she pulled the door open, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the boy, his sheepish grin failing to mask the discomfort he was feeling, his tell being the hand scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, Lucy, are you feeling alright?" Kouta asked, his feigned demeanor falling as he noticed the turmoil evident from Lucy's posture.

She whispered a half-hearted "I'm fine," before trying to make a retreat to her futon – stopped mid stride by Kouta's hand catching her wrist. Her eyes widened slightly at the contact.

"No, you're not," the grit in his voice made her eyes widen even further. There was a steadfastness in his voice that caught her off guard. "Please, Lucy, tell me what's wrong." He asked, bringing his hands gently up to her shoulders, lightly turning her around to face him. Willing her to look at him, to open up to him.

"It's nothing," she tried to pretend. "I'm just… confused." Yes, confused was a good word for it. Kouta smiled softly, shaking his head.

"Well then, what's confusing you?" He prodded. "I may not have an answer, but at least I have an ear." Lucy smiled at the silly metaphor. Maybe, though… maybe that would be enough.

Grabbing Kouta's hand, she gently pulled him down to a sitting position with her. Now that she had him here, had his attention, she didn't know what to say. Her mind froze. They sat there in silence while she fumbled with her thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain her troubles to him, how to open up to another person.

"I…" she began. It was a word, at least. "I shouldn't care about them, but…" what was she trying to say? Even Lucy was unsure. "But I do."

"The other diclonius?" Kouta surmised from his discussion with Kurama. Lucy nodded.

"I've never met most of them, I don't have a stake in their wellbeing. They shouldn't mean anything to me." She spoke, more to herself than to Kouta. "But I can't stop thinking about it." She finished in a half whisper.

Kouta nodded, taking all of it in. Another silence fell as he formulated his thoughts. "Well, I'm no expert, but I think what you're feeling is pretty normal." Lucy looked up at him in confusion. "I mean, something bad happens to someone, even if you don't know them, you're bound to feel something for them. I'd think it's the natural response.

"We both know that diclonius are more than the monsters that they're made out to be, so of course you'd empathize with their struggles." Kouta surmised, chin held between thumb and index finger in a thoughtful position.

Lucy pondered his input. The natural response? She almost laughed at the thought, _her_ having a natural response to something. Still, in some way it did make sense, she supposed.

"And after all, you are their queen." Kouta teased, trying to lighten the mood, though the idea wasn't without merit.

"Some queen I turned out to be then," Lucy shook her head with a slight smile, before a mischievous thought entered her head. "I don't even have a king." Kouta's face reddened at the insinuation.

"W-well," he stuttered. "Do bees have a king? You don't need a king to be a queen." Now Kouta was the one avoiding eye contact. Lucy let out a small giggle at his act, amused how quickly he could go from insightful to flustered.

"Oh, so now you're comparing me to an insect?" she let out a huff and turned her head to the side in mock indignation.

"Oh come on, you know that's not what I meant." Kouta replied. Lucy's act broke and she devolved into a quiet laughter at the banter. As the diclonius tried to compose herself, Kouta looked on, star struck at the woman before him. When she was like this, the dark thoughts that near-constantly plagued her gone, she looked… mesmerizing.

This person in front of him, this lighthearted Lucy, her carefree smile; Kouta decided it was something he wanted to protect.

"Lucy, what if we tried helping Kurama?" Lucy, recovering from her fit of giggles, eyed Kouta curiously. A week ago she would have gagged at the thought of helping that man, but she supposed time had finally healed that wound.

"Obviously we can't have you out in public, doing what he and Nana do. But what if we tried finding the other diclonius? Tried to help them and convince them to seek peace?" Kouta suggested. "You can sense where the others are, right? It shouldn't be too hard to find them"

Lucy thought about it. While she hadn't been actively been paying attention, she _could_ feel where the other diclonius were if she focused – Nana obviously being very close by, a few scattered in various directions and a curiously large number far to the north. The diclonius queen was surprised at just how far she could feel now, her range was much further than it had been when she had first escaped the research facility and returned to Kamakura.

Lucy mulled the thought over, surprised by how much helping her race actually appealed to her. Then a thought struck her. "Wait, what do you mean, _we_?"

Kouta held up his hands in embarrassment. "Well, I can't quite go out and find them myself. It's not like I can sense them." He tried reasoning.

"No, Kouta, that's not what I meant." Lucy replied, shaking her head. "I mean why would you be coming with me? No offense, but a human being around a diclonius isn't exactly something that ends well"

"Well… because I want to support you." He stated. "Yeah, if a diclonius tries to attack me I'm probably going into a bad spot, but I've been around you and Nana quite a bit and, so far, I'm still alive." Lucy mentally cringed. True, neither of them had hurt him, but the number of times he had been endangered by being around her was another story. The thought of him being in even more situations like that didn't sit well with her.

Kouta, sensing the apprehension she had with the idea, continued. "I know that going around searching for diclonius is probably hazardous to my health, but I want to help you, even if it's just with support. Obviously I can't go toe to toe with a diclonius," he grinned slightly, giving her shoulder a playful shove as he said "That's why I have you."

Lucy ears heated up at the implication. Still, his encouragement was infectious, and she couldn't help but feel hopeful at the thought of doing something, anything other than lounging about, cleaning the inn, and brooding. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that," she replied, giving him a shove in return.

"Then it's settled." He responded with a nod. "Of course we'll probably need to hash out some of the details, but I think we can manage it."

"Yeah," was her simple reply. They stayed quiet for a moment before Lucy spoke up again. "Hey, Kouta, can we go out? There's something I want to show you."

Kouta's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, what would she want to show him? "Yeah, sure. Just let me get changed and we can head out." He said, referring to his current around-the-house shirt and a loose pair of shorts he was currently wearing.

Lucy smiled and nodded. After Kouta excused himself from the room, she fell back on her futon, a smile playing across her lips. The diclonius didn't know what she was getting herself into, but if it was with Kouta, she would do it.

* * *

Lola grit her teeth as another dock worker appeared from the modest tug boat. Removing her vector from the heart of her previous victim, body falling with a dull thud, she hugged herself closer to the brick wall that overlooked the small marina.

The diclonius enclave had decided on a plan to commandeer a boat to travel to mainland Japan. Though Lola didn't want to broadcast the existence of her group, she knew she couldn't let Lucy return to her position as queen. It would spell the end of their race.

To that end, Lola and a small number of her sisters would seek out the former queen and prevent her from reclaiming that title.

Lola, unfortunately had forgotten just how many humans could exist, they multiplied like ants, so getting to the boat was proving a challenge. She wanted to minimize the body count, the humans already knew that causing brain hemorrhages were the preferred method of a diclonius when they wanted to remain incognito, so she had to get creative. Luckily, her evolving power gave her more acute control over placing her vectors as well as how much or how little she could solidify them. Her last victim she had simply compressed his heart as to keep it from beating. The downside of this was that it took time. With the next worker fast approaching the body of his now dead friend, she didn't have that luxury.

So she severed an artery. The man convulsed before falling dead. Carefully, Lola stitched the two ends back together. When they performed an autopsy to determine the cause of death nothing would seem out of place. Feeling the exhaustion set in from the fine use of her power, she made a mental note to refrain from using such drastic measures in the future. Waiting a moment to make sure no one else exited the vessel, she made her way onboard, carrying the two dead bodies with her. She quickly searched under the deck for a place to stash them and decided on the engine room, but not before grabbing the log book from who she assumed to be the captain.

Skimming through the pages as she made her way to the controls, Lola felt some confidence in her ability to start and steer the ship. Flipping a couple switches, she turned the ignition, silently praying as it chugged before the engine roared to life. Letting out a quiet humph of victory, she pushed the accelerator forward. The ship slowly pulled out before she was thrown forward by the vessels sudden stop. Looking back, Lola sweat-dropped as she noticed the anchor and tie were still in place. Pulling the accelerator back down, she quickly hoisted the anchor and untied the boat from the dock. Retaking her spot at the controls, she pushed the boat forward again.

First she would take the boat south east, as if heading towards a fishing spot, the captain's original destination, before pulling north to pick up her sisters from a secluded beachhead and then heading back south towards mainland Japan.

Lola nodded soundly at her plan. She didn't want to harm one of her race, but she knew it had to be done. It was Lucy or the rest of them, and Lola would chose the rest of her diclonius every time.

* * *

Kouta let out a panicked yell as he fell forward, foot caught on a hidden root. Before he had the chance to face plant into the dirt an invisible hand pushed back, keeping him upright. Looking forward to his companion he have out an embarrassed thanks. Lucy just smiled, shaking her head in amusement.

The pair made their way through a thick forest, one oddly familiar to the boy. When Lucy had asked him if they could go out, he hadn't been picturing a nature walk.

Not that he minded. Kouta loved nature, in his youth he used to head out into the forests all the time to make sketches of the scenery he came across, a hobby that he had dropped after that one summer all those years ago.

The two trekked in silence through the trees before Kouta noticed a familiar cliff side. "Wait, is this…"

"The place where we first met." Lucy finished. "There's something here… that I've wanted to give you for a long time." She stated, before kneeling in front of a tree with an odd stone protruding from the base. Lucy sifted through the dirt before finally brushing her hand across the corked top of a jar, all the while Kouta looked on curiously.

Digging the object out, she quietly handed it to him. "Well, open it up." Lucy said shyly, now not completely certain about what she was handing him.

Puzzled, Kouta nonetheless nodded towards his companion and pulled the top off, fishing out the paper lodged inside. He was surprised when a small stone – a jade – fell out. Was it…? No, it couldn't be the same one from his summer here. He looked at Lucy in question only to find her gaze directed at anything but him. Deciding he wouldn't get an answer from his companion he moved on.

Next he pulled the folded piece of paper out. Opening it revealed a small note.

 _See you again!  
I will always, always cherish this stone.  
Ah, I want to wear it as a wedding ring._

 _To, Kouta_

 _From, Kaede_

Kaede? Who was Kaede? Kouta looked at Lucy, then back to the letter, then back at Lucy, back to the letter. Then realization dawned on him.

Lucy, back faced to him, still eyeing the dirt by her feet as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, went rigid when she felt his arms wrap around her.

"This letter, you wrote it back then, didn't you?" Kouta whispered, as his head rested on her shoulder.

"Y-yeah…" Lucy managed to stumble out. "I wanted to give it to you back then, before… before…" she couldn't bear to utter the end of that sentence.

"I'm glad I got to know the name of the girl I played with that summer." Kouta replied, cutting her off before she could continue down that path of thought.

Lucy was enamored by his words, the color of her face growing ever closer to that of her hair. "Y-yeah, me too…" was all she was able to manage.

"I guess the question is," Kouta started, gently pulling away from her, causing her to turn to face him. "Who is the girl in front of me?"

Lucy thought about it. Kaede was a name she hadn't used since she had entered the institute. When they had first been brought into that damnable facility the researchers there knew next to nothing about her, and she had sure as hell not given anything to them. Since no one knew her name, they had dubbed her "Lucy." And it stuck. She disassociated herself from her past, deciding they wouldn't get anything from her, wouldn't be able to harm anything like they had hurt her friend.

The only piece she had held onto was Kouta, the memories with him were the one thing that had kept her going.

"I think… I think that Kaede isn't a name I'm comfortable with. Not right now, at least." She decided. They knew her as Lucy. And despite the history associated with that name, it was what she had identified with for so long.

Kouta simply nodded. Although he liked the name Kaede, thought it was beautiful, he could understand Lucy's decision. Pocketing the letter and jade, Kouta and Lucy continued through the woods before eventually reaching a clearing overlooking Kamakura. Unfortunately the sun was setting behind them, but they could still see its soft glow illuminating the bay, the flickering of lights throughout the street signaling the transition through twilight.

The two barely spoke as they gazed out, simply enjoying each other's company. Somewhere along the line, Kouta's hand found Lucy's and their fingers interlaced. It was a beautiful moment, Lucy decided. One of those days she was sure she would remember for the rest of her life.

Regrettably, the two soon had to return to the city, lest the forest get too dark to travel through. Returning to the Inn, Kouta was surprised to not hear the chatter between Nana and Mayu. The girls were normally back around this time and were sisters in all but blood at this point.

Shrugging it off, he removed his shoes, announced his and Lucy's arrival, and parted with her, him heading for the kitchen and her heading for the baths.

It was in the kitchen that he found Nozomi and Yuka, the latter busying herself with dishes while Nozomi was studying music. "Oh, Yuka, Nozomi." Kouta greeted as he entered.

While Nozomi gave him a quiet greeting, too engrossed in her studies, Yuka turned and gave him a bright smile. "Oh, Kouta, I'm sorry, I just finished putting away dinner. Where have you been?" She asked out of genuine curiosity. Since Lucy's return, she disappointingly hadn't been spending as much time with him, though not out of lack of effort on her part. Her cousin just seemed to have less free time.

"Oh I went out with Lucy." He replied quickly before realizing he had stuck his proverbial foot in his mouth.

"O-oh." Was all Yuka said, her previously cheerful face now noticeably more downcast. Kouta didn't know why, but Yuka didn't seem to enjoy hearing about anything involving him and Lucy. He thought it might have something to do with his cousin still not trusting the diclonius queen, but the two seemed to get along well enough so he wasn't certain.

"Kouta, you really care about Lucy, don't you?" Yuka had meant to whisper only to herself, but spoke loud enough that Kouta could hear.

"Well of course I do. She's part of our family." Kouta said, half-oblivious to the true nature of Yuka's question, the other half not wanting to confront what his feelings were for the pink-haired girl.

"Stupid Kouta…" Yuka whispered, this time too quiet for her cousin to hear. Shaking her head, she tried her best to get over her now dampened mood. "Anyways, I was just about to brew tea, and there's still a bit of dinner put away in the fridge if you want. I know reheating it isn't as good, but it's something."

"Thanks, Yuka, you're the best." Kouta replied happily to his cousin. He truly did care for her, and it made him sad to see her sad.

Yuka smiled at the compliment, and the two – three if you counted the busy Nozomi – enjoyed each other's company.

* * *

Lucy sighed contently as she left the bath house dressed in a light tank top and a pair of shorts, still toweling her hair. As she made her way through the house she stopped at the entrance, spotting the old grandfather clock that sat there. Though she didn't have a complete recollection of her other half's memories, she did have pieces. And the time Nyu had spent getting that old time-piece to work brought a humorous smile to her lips.

Her attention shifted as she heard muffled voices outside the door.

"Mr. Bando, you really didn't need to walk me all the way, I would have been fine." Mayu's voice came through.

"Tch, I wasn't walking you anywhere, we just happened to be going in the same direction." An oddly familiar voice followed up.

Mayu giggled. "All the way to the door? Past the main entrance?"

"Yeah? So what?" The voice replied as Mayu slid the door open. "I'm just doing my usual patrols, that's all." Bando turned from the girl he was walking with to the inside of the Inn. The first thing to catch his eye was pink hair, and the girl it belonged to.

"What the fuck?"

 _ **Fortsetzung folgt…**_

* * *

AN: Questions, comments, concerns, thoughts? Leave a review. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter IV: Kampf der Elfen

REGENERATION  
 **Chapter IV: Kampf der Elfen**

Takao Kanbe strode through the hallways of the UN building in New York, the man's large body an imposing figure among the traffic that the building usually ferried. Kanabe was a picturesque figure of a military man, well-built with clean cut hair, heavily greyed from his age, and piercing eyes that hid any discomfort he felt being here, so far away from Japan. Still, he had reason to stay. The Prime Minister had entrusted him with the future of the nation and that future hedged on the formation of the ADDF. Those creatures had done too much damage to his country to be met with sympathy.

Entering his temporary office, the space actually belonging to the Japanese representative of the UN who had offered it to him while the General was in New York, he seated himself on the stiff chair behind the desk. Kanabe unfolded and booted up his laptop, waiting a second for the device to boot up before going through the monotonous task of scrolling through emails – of which there were many – and responding where he felt necessary. His speech had no doubt turned some heads and the messages of both praise, hesitance, and disdain from various persons of power and media outlets were proof of that.

The desk was sparsely occupied, save for a bundle of newspapers, many with headlines of his speech from the day prior "Japanese General Calls for Diclonious Headhunter Force" one read. "Crazed Warmonger Wants Prolonged Conflict" read another. And who could miss "A Man Who Isn't Afraid to Tell it Like it Is: The Genius and Legacy of General Takao Kanabe." It amused the General just how many ways different people spun his speech.

One other thing took up space on the desk. It was one of the few things that Kanabe had brought with him to New York, or anywhere for that matter. A lone picture frame held a photo of a Japanese woman late with child accompanied by a burly man with short cropped hair, both with carefree expressions and holding each other lovingly.

The General's attention diverted from his work towards the picture, as it often would. Despite the painful memories associated with the picture, he kept in anyways. Maybe as a reminder to himself of why he did what he did.

And as usual, those memories began to surface. The excitement of that woman, his wife, as she showed him the results of a pregnancy test. His utter shock at the fact that he had been able to get anyone pregnant at his age. She had refused ultrasounds, wanting the gender of their child to be a surprise.

He remembered how excited she was each day through the pregnancy, even through morning sickness and back pains that came with the extra weight.

Of course, then he would remember of the complications during birth, something had caused internal bleeding, and the doctors had had to perform a C-section to save the child. He remembered how the doctors, realizing they wouldn't be able to stop the bleeding and had instead given his wife her newly born child to hold in her last moments. She had died with a smile on her face, gladly trading her life for that of her child's.

And then he would remember taking the child, a girl, into his own arms; the only link to his now dead wife. Seeing her unusual hair color and the protrusions peeking out. He had paid little mind to them at the time, only wanting to hold the child close, being scared that it would be taken from him as quickly as his wife had.

He remembered how he would wake up the next day to find out his child had indeed been taken away, being told little else other than she was unhealthy and had to be quarantined, an explanation that he knew was bullshit. The child had been fine when he had held her the night before. He had been told he needed to receive a vasectomy because he was infected with some virus. He had wanted to raise a fit, but even a man of his position couldn't do anything against the authority that these men held.

Kanabe grit his teeth at the recollections. No matter how much time had passed, the pain the memories brought never dulled. Forcing himself to turn away from the picture, the General resumed his monotonous task of sorting and replying to mail.

* * *

Lucy stared blankly as the man accompanying Mayu shouted at her before quickly jumping back, taking the girl with him in what could almost be described as a protective stance.

"Mayu, get the fuck out of here!" He yelled, reaching underneath his jacket and grabbing a high caliber pistol. "This bitch is mine."

"Mister Bando, wait!" Mayu yelled out, but her voice was overpowered by the discharge of the mercenary's weapon as he fired a quick succession of tungsten slugs at the diclonius. He smirked, the gun was his ace in the hole. No diclonius was able to stop these.

Lucy found herself with a mixture of amusement and surprise. She finally remembered where she had seen this man before, they had 'sparred' on multiple occasions, if you could call it sparring. Still, she was surprised that the man was alive. The last time they had fought Lucy thought she had left him for dead. Obviously she was wrong.

The thoughts quickly changed to annoyance when he pulled out a gun. Obviously he believed he was safe from her vector's reach at that distance. To be fair, the last time they fought he would have been. But Lucy had developed quite a bit since then.

And so when he fired she simply deflected the bullets, noticing the extra strain it took to stop them compared to conventional weapons. Lucy assumed that meant they were those 'extra special' bullets he had gloated on and on about last time. She felt no small amount of satisfaction at the fact that they were useless against her now.

Bando was much less satisfied with the outcome. _'That bitch, she stopped them. How?"_ He grew even angrier at the realization. She had grown stronger since their last bout. _'But if she's grown stronger, then…"_ The revelation came to him just as he heard the hiss of air being sliced in half as one of the diclonius' vectors flew towards him. _'Shit, this is it, isn't it?'_ He stood his ground, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him cower.

Lucy shot a vector at him, and sliced right through his gun, before recalling it back to herself. "You've got to do better than that if you want to kill me." She simply stated as she started walking away.

When Bando realized she hadn't killed him and had instead only destroyed his gun, his fury grew further. "Don't fucking play with me!" He yelled, unholstering another identical pistol. _'Bad move, turning your back on me,'_ he smirked as he fired another volley of shots.

Lucy heaved a sigh as she heard the chambering of his second gun. She had expected it, but it still disappointed her. As with the first round, she stopped the bullets, causing them to fall lifelessly to the ground with a solid _thud_. Then she shot another vector out and tore up Bando's second gun. Turning towards him with a look of annoyance she slowly walked to where he stood, the mercenary still in awe of what had had seen her do _twice_.

"Look, is there anything else you want to try?" Lucy stated, her eyes slits as she stared down the man at least two heads taller than her, though who right now looked meek in comparison. "Because obviously that plan isn't working." She pointed at the pieces of gunmetal littering the yard.

"Mr. Bando," Mayu spoke up, finally breaking out of her state of shock at the confrontation. "Lucy's a friend, please don't be mean to her." The ex SAT soldier momentarily diverted his attention from the diclonius towards the younger girl, seeing her pleading look.

At that moment, Kouta, Yuka, and Nozomi came out into the yard, worried by the commotion and the loud sound of gunshots. Lucy, hearing the sound of footsteps turned towards the sound and when she saw Kouta realization dawned on her. She had used her vectors, would Kouta hate her for that? Her mood darkened quickly as she started withdrawing in on herself.

"Hey, what's with all the commotion out here?" Yuka was the first one to speak up as she looked in between Lucy, Bando, and Mayu. Lucy, still overanalyzing every second of what had just happened didn't pay attention at all, and Bando was too indignant to respond, just turning his head away and letting out an agitated grunt.

That left Mayu, and when she realized that neither of the other two were going to say anything she gave her explanation. "Mr. Bando was walking me home, and when we got inside, he saw Lucy. I guess they don't have the best history so he thought she was a bad guy and tried defending me," the phrasing earned another disgruntled noise out of Bando. "So Lucy used her vectors to stop his weapons."

Then Mayu turned to Bando, "But Mr. Bando knows that Lucy is a friend now, right?" When he didn't respond she tugged on his jacket, trying to get him to turn and acknowledge her. "Right?"

Bando did turn and looked down at the girl talking to him. The old Bando would have probably slapped someone who dared touch him so familiarly, but he simply glared at her through his glasses. "Yeah, whatever." He replied before turning away again, trying to maintain some semblance of pride.

Lucy numbly made her way to Kouta, her head hanging the entire way. Kouta looked at her curiously, trying to discern what she was doing. She remained quiet for a moment before finally whispering to him, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Kouta scratched his head in confusion.

"I- I used my vectors." She replied, still not daring to look at him. Kouta was even more confused.

"Yeah, so what?"

"B-but I promised. Promised that I wouldn't use my power anymore." Lucy remembered how he had looked at her that night. When she had betrayed him and attacked Kurama right after promising to never use her vectors again. She remembered the hate in his eyes, how lowly she was to him in that instant. She was afraid of that look. She didn't want to see it again.

"Lucy," Kouta said, placing his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "I meant I didn't want you to hurt anyone again. But you used your power to defend yourself. I can't fault you for that." The diclonius looked up at him, surprise and hope in her eyes.

"Kouta…" Lucy hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, vaguely aware of the audience around them but not caring. She wanted the comfort of being close to him.

Kouta however, was well aware. His face brightened considerably as he dodged his head everywhere but at the young woman clinging to him. He caught Nozomi's embarrassed look; the girl was probably just as embarrassed of witnessing the act as he was of receiving it. Then he saw Yuka's gaze, a mixture of shock and horror, maybe even anger.

It looked like his cousin was going to speak up, but before she could, a loud knock came from the door. Carefully detaching himself from Lucy, Kouta made his way to answer the door. At the entrance was a short old man.

"Hey, what's with all the noise!?" the man questioned accusingly. Kouta then became aware of the fact that the entire neighborhood had probably heard the scuffle.

"Eh, well you see…" Kouta frantically tried thinking of an excuse. Then the metaphorical light bulb clicked. "Well, we were just trying out some fireworks. Wanted to see how well they work." He hoped the man would buy the excuse.

"Fireworks?" the guest stared him down, before shaking his head. "Well keep it down, it's not even close to the summer festival so there's no reason for that." With that he excused himself, muttering something about impolite young kids these days.

Kouta gave a nervous laugh in response and replied that they'd be sure to be more careful in the future before sliding the front door closed. Turning to the group that had gathered in the yard, Kouta was suddenly struck with a thought.

"Hey, where's Kurama and Nana?" Surely they would have been concerned by the commotion as well.

"Oh, Mr. Kurama said he needed to go and speak to a friend about something. When Nana heard she made sure she went with." Mayu replied, seemingly the only one who knew their whereabouts.

"Huh, that's strange. I thought he didn't have any meeting scheduled." Kouta shrugged it off. Kurama was an important man in this day and age. It wasn't entirely out of the question that something sudden would come up.

* * *

"So, Arikawa, what's your take on it?" Kurama asked the now famous scientist while nursing a still warm cup of coffee. It was a nice change of pace from the tea that Nana always gave him. Not that her efforts went unappreciated, he was just a coffee man was all.

"It's not Lucy, there's no question," the woman sitting across from him replied, having long since drained her own cup. Uncrossing her legs, she got up to pour herself a fresh cup. Making her way from the chair behind her luxurious desk, she made her way to the coffee pot that she had in her office. "Lucy died in Kamakura, autopsy confirmed it was her."

Kurama nodded quietly, contemplating. "Yes I'm aware, but the resemblance is uncanny. The mannerisms, the way she acts around others, even her memories are a perfect match. Is it possible, maybe, that diclonius have some ability to regenerate from near fatal circumstances?" Kurama was throwing ideas at the wall trying to find something that would stick. He knew Lucy should be dead, but there was no way the woman at the Maple Inn _wasn't_ Lucy. He had come to meet his former, now dead friend's assistant turned world renowned doctor in hopes that she could shed some light on the diclonius queen's apparent resurrection.

Arikawa shook her head, walking back to her desk with a fresh cup of coffee. "No, it isn't," she sat back down at her desk. "While it's true that diclonius can heal faster and recover from graver wounds than humans, we both know they can't regenerate their entire bodies. Look at Nana." Arikawa pointed at the quiet girl sitting on a couch to the side in her office. The diclonius perked her head up at the mention of her name, having been keeping herself busy while the two others discussed matters that she honestly didn't quite understand.

"She was able to survive having all of her limbs amputated, but she hasn't grown them back. Something like that just isn't possible." Kurama nodded again. He had figured as much, but still, there had to be some explanation.

The two remained silent for a moment, both lost in thought. "Unless… maybe…" Arikawa was suddenly struck with a thought. Eyeing Nana cautiously, not exactly trusting the girl with her theory, she leaned over the desk, and whispered a theory to Kurama. The man's eyes widened considerably at her hypothesis.

"No, you think that bastard would do something like that?" Kurama's fist clenched at the thought. He didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. It explained how Lucy could have died, yet still have surfaced from the ocean seemingly at random. It explained why Kakuzawa would so easily order Lucy to be executed, even though he was adamant about the diclonius queen being essential to his plan. But it didn't explain one thing.

"But then, how does she have memories right up to the day she died?" Kurama asked. If Arikawa's theory was correct, it didn't explain that one oddity. The doctor pondered for a moment.

"During my time working with Kyoju on the vector virus vaccine, we spent a considerable amount of time mapping the diclonius genome. While it's obviously nearly identical to the human genome, there were numerous differences. Genes that created the larger penal gland, of course, ones that gave them their unique eyes and hair. But there were also some gene patterns that were remarkably similar to those found in species with hive mentality, like bees or ants. It helped explain how diclonius could feel each other's presence and we theorized that large groups of diclonius might even be able to interact and share knowledge with one another in a similar fashion to how these insects do.

"We were never able to confirm this theory for obvious reasons, but if it was true, it could be possible that Lucy and all other diclonius are able to share their memories and experiences with others of their kind." Arikawa concluded.

"That – that's a little bit much, don't you think?" Kurama finally responded. "I mean, if it's true the all the pieces fall into place, but even so, don't you think that's a little far-fetched?"

Arikawa sighed, she knew it sounded like quite the extrapolation. But even so, after all she had experienced working for both the Kakuzawa's, she'd seen stranger things. "I admit it's a little out there. But considering we're talking about a race that literally has invisible arms, it's not the craziest thing in the world is it?"

Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose in deep thought. "I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Arikawa nodded, understanding his train of thought.

"Yes, we'd have to go to the Research Institute."

"Or what's left of it," Kurama replied. The facility had sunk into the ocean so trying to salvage any information they could would be difficult to say the least. Then he realized exactly what Arikawa had said. "Wait, what do you mean ' _we'?_ " Arikawa just gave him a devious grin.

* * *

Yuka sighed as she made her way through the hallways of the Maple Inn. Luckily the situation between Lucy and Mayu's friend Bando had been resolved, the young girl seemed to have considerable sway over the larger man's actions and Lucy hadn't been too interested in fighting in the first place. In the moment though it was still nerve racking. When Bando had made a huff about being finished with business and leaving the inn shortly after Kouta had dealt with their neighbor, Yuka had been relieved.

But there was one other thing that had scared Yuka almost as much as the mercenary, how intimate Lucy and her cousin had become. As much as it pained the girl to admit it, the way Kouta interacted with the diclonius, how soft his gaze was when he looked at Lucy, it was nothing like what he shared with her. It almost made Yuka jealous, but more than that, it brought on a feeling of resignment, of defeat. Yuka was slowly starting to realize that she wouldn't be able to win her cousin over.

Still, there was one thing she had to confirm. She wouldn't give up her cousin without a fight. That was why she was in front of Lucy's door. And why, after steeling herself, she knocked.

"Lucy, are you in there?" Yuka asked. Her response was a slight shuffle before the door slid open, revealing the tired gaze of the diclonius queen. She had been hoping to finally take a nap after her bath, a nap that had been interrupted by Bando. Her eyebrows scrunched visibly as she tried to discern why Yuka would want to speak to her. "May I come in?" Yuka asked when Lucy said nothing. The pink haired girl eventually nodded before moving to the side to allow the other access.

Quietly, the two girls sat across from each other, Lucy still not sure why Kouta's cousin had come to her room and Yuka trying to figure out how to approach the topic at hand. Finally, she just came right out. "Lucy, do you love Kouta?"

The diclonius looked at the other girl in surprise, out of all the things she had expected Yuka to talk about, that hadn't been on that list. After a moment, Lucy quietly bowed her head, and whispered out a barely audible. "Yes."

Yuka, despite knowing that would be her answer, despite preparing herself for it, still felt the sting of hurt at Lucy's confirmation. Pushing down her feelings, she pressed on. She had to, for Kouta's sake. "And what would you do if he didn't love you back?"

Lucy grit her teeth, trying to suppress the sudden anger that had sparked inside her. How dare this woman try and insinuate something like that! Clearing her mind, Lucy thought the question through. If Yuka had wanted to get between them, this wouldn't be a very effective way, so her question had some other meaning. "If… If Kouta didn't love me…" just the thought was painful, but Lucy pressed on regardless. "Then I wouldn't get in between him and the girl he did love. I've caused Kouta too much pain to deny him that." Lucy finished, doing her best to quell her sadness at the thought.

Yuka let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Despite part of her wishing the diclonius would give any other reason for Yuka to resent the girl, she knew Lucy was being truthful. That left only one path to take. "Then I suppose I should take your words to heart," Yuka admitted to Lucy and to herself. "Kouta deserves happiness. If that happiness is with you, then I won't interfere."

Lucy looked back up, surprise evident on her face. Yuka just smiled at her. "What, you didn't take me for some cold hearted, meddling witch, did you?" She teased. "Just promise me one thing, don't let Kouta get hurt. He's been through enough already."

Wiping a small tear from her eye, Lucy nodded back, a small smile gracing her features. "Of course. I couldn't do anything less."

It was then that Lucy sensed it, a small nagging in the back of her mind that she had been ignoring. Quickly springing into action, she used two of her vectors to propel herself across the room, grabbing Yuka in her arms before using her remaining vectors to tear through the wall and escape from the room. Moments later a loud crack rang out as a stray vehicle exploded through the wall, crashing into the location Lucy and Yuka had been occupying a second ago.

Setting Yuka down, Lucy turned to face the source of the attack. Through the hole in the wall, she spotted a group of diclonius, at least six in total. Five of them were dressed in uniforms not dissimilar to the ones worn by the Mariko clones sans the helmets, while the last one, presumably their leader, wore a simple white sundress. She was the first to step forward and speak. "Why hello, Lucy. It's nice to finally meet you."

Lucy clenched her fists, eyes narrowing predatorily. Whoever these new diclonius were, they weren't friendly. That much was obvious. "Who are you!?" Lucy demanded of the girl.

The girl smiled, before flourishing her arms out in a grand fashion. "I am Lola, but you can call me your queen." Lucy had to bite back a laugh.

"My queen, huh?" Lucy brought her posture down in to a much more ready stance. "I think you may have the roles reversed." Turning towards Yuka briefly, she told the girl to grab the others and get out of the house. The stunned girl numbly nodded before taking off.

"What you think means little, especially since you won't be alive much longer." With a flick of Lola's hand, two of her followers sprang into action. Lucy used her vectors to push off to one side as a series of the other diclonius' vectors sliced through the air she had just occupied, slicing through the wall just behind. Solidifying her own vectors before she attacked, Lucy used them to deliver a series of solid punches to the two attackers. It seemed she had an advantage when it came to range, though that was to be expected. Though she lacked the overwhelming control over her vectors that she had possessed that night on the sea candle, Lucy was by no means a pushover. The number and range of her vectors had been progressively increasing ever since she had awoken on the beach.

The two hostile diclonius cried out in pain as they were assaulted, but didn't falter. Catching themselves, they mounted another assault. Lucy prepared to counter before her senses went off and she detected another two diclonius moving into position behind her. Quickly thinking, she tore open the roof of the building and launched herself up and on top. She had to get to a more open area. Her ranged advantage would mean nothing in the close quarters of the Inn.

Surveying the surrounding area, she briefly noticed Yuka, Nozomi, Mayu and Kouta running down the street. She briefly locked eyes with Kouta and grimaced. Again her presence had created chaos at the inn. She had to finish this quickly, for his sake.

Sensing the enemy diclonius positioning underneath her, she made a decision to take off towards the beach. If Bando was as methodical as she thought he was, it should still be litter free. An open space like that where the other diclonius didn't have weapons to throw at her would be the perfect venue for a fight, where their numbers wouldn't be able to trounce the advantages she had.

Using her vectors to grab onto the edge of the building, she got a running start before propelling herself forward across the city. The other diclonius would no doubt be fast in pursuit.

* * *

"Wait, how many did you say there were?" Kouta huffed out as the group ran.

"I don't know, at least six." Kouta came to a stop as he saw Lucy run on top of the roof before propelling herself through the city towards the ware. Soon after a group of diclonius, he did count six, took off after her. Kouta gulped. He knew Lucy was strong, but was she that good?

"Mayu, do you know how to get ahold of that Bando guy?" He didn't exactly trust the mercenary but at the moment they didn't have a lot of options.

"Umm, maybe. I have an idea of where he's staying…" Mayu replied, still shocked at what was happening.

"Good. Please talk to him and convince him to help Lucy. He's the only one who might be able to do something. Yuka, Nozomi, please try to get ahold of Kurama, see if there's anything he can do."

Yuka nodded, but then thought. "Wait, Kouta what about you?"

Kouta grit his teeth, he knew it was stupid but… "I have to go after her, make sure Lucy is alright." Yuka was taken aback.

"Wait, what? Kouta, against a diclonius you can't do anything!" She tried grabbing his arm but he had already started running off. "Kouta, wait!"

Regardless, he kept on running. _"I know this is stupid of me…. But I can't just sit back and do nothing. Even if it's dangerous, I have to try. I'm sick of being a bystander!"_

* * *

Lucy's bare feet touched down on the sand with a soft pat. Sensing the other diclonius still some ways a way she mentally grinned. If it was taking them this long to get here then they definitely weren't anywhere near her league.

Luckily it was a gloomy day out so the beach was sparsely populated. And the area she had landed on was even more secluded, there wasn't anyone around for a good distance. This arena would work out just fine.

As apprehensive as Lucy was about fighting, she didn't want to risk any danger coming to Kouta, or to anyone else who lived at the inn. Though these diclonius had undoubtedly came for her, she had no way of knowing if they would attack the others when they were finished with her.

Even so, she had made a promise to Kouta, so she wouldn't kill them. Just make sure they wouldn't be ready for a fight any time soon. A few broken bones should suffice.

It wasn't much longer before the pursuing diclonius caught up to Lucy. Landing a good 50 meters away from Lucy, probably wary of her potential reach, the two sides faced off.

"I'll give you one chance," Lucy called out across the beach. "Leave now, I don't want to fight you." The other diclonius, the one in the dress, just smirked.

"Lucy, that's just the problem. You don't want to fight," Lola stepped forward a few paces. "How can we as a species survive if even our 'queen' won't defend against those that oppress us?"

Before Lucy had a chance to retort, four of the guards jumped into action. Tracking their movements the best she could, Lucy shot her vectors out and intercepted all four, throwing them back an appropriate range. Two of them managed to land on their feet, while the other two fell onto the ground less gracefully, their bodies impacting the sand with soft thuds. They were quick to get up however, seemingly unfazed by it.

And again they attacked, and again Lucy intercepted. The four probed around the queen diclonius, seemingly searching for a blind spot they could exploit. All the while, Lola stood back with one other diclonius guard, seemingly content to watch from afar.

When another attack from the four failed, Lucy took the moment to retort. "You're not going to win like this, you realize. You might as well all come at me, or just give up." Lola just smiled. So when the four went in for another attack, Lucy threw three of them back, but grabbed hold of the fourth one's leg, using her vector to apply just a little bit of extra pressure, breaking the bone and causing the girl to cry out in pain, before throwing her ungracefully towards where Lola and the last guard stood.

That was when Lola finally moved, jumping towards the wounded diclonius and catching the girl in her arms. Whispering something into the guard's ear, she gently set her down. Lucy noticed a change in her composure. She seemed almost angry that the other diclonius had been injured. Lucy smiled, so the girl did have a switch after all.

Lola snapped her fingers and the other diclonius withdrew. Then she stepped forward. "So, finally going to take me on yourself instead of using your lackeys to do your job?" Lucy baited.

"You may have injured her, but my sisters preformed their jobs admirably," Lola's face became predatory, touched with anger and bloodlust. "They weren't attacking you, they were scoping you out. And now I have an idea of what your abilities are." Without moving, eight vectors shot out of the girl, towards Lucy. Her eyes widened slightly as she leapt out of the way. She had expected that girl to be more powerful than the others, but the margin was much larger than she had guessed.

Lola's vectors didn't stop pursuing as Lucy continually dodged the oncoming attacks. The girls range had to be 15 to 20 meters at least. Finally as Lucy jumped back, the attacking diclonius withdrew her vectors, before running forward and propelling herself towards Lucy.

Lucy cursed, landing on the sand before having to immediately dodge to the side as a series of Lola's vectors impacted against the ground with a resounding smash, kicking up sand and debris in a miniature explosion.

As Lola withdrew her vectors again, she surveyed the area. Lucy was becoming visibly winded from being on the defensive so much. She grinned. "You see, Lucy. I noticed something while you were engaging my guards. You never retaliated until they were within 10 meters of yourself. From there it's easy to guess that your range is limited to within that area." She shot her vectors out in a series of mock attacks again, which Lucy again avoided. "But as you see, my range is much greater."

Lola resumed her assault and Lucy dodged across the beach. As Lola continued her assault she drew closer and closer, but always careful to stay outside of that 10 meter range. She withdrew her vectors again and prepared for another barrage when suddenly something came flying into her chest. Lola coughed out, completely winded from the attack as she careened across the beach head. Lucy recalled her vector, taking a few deep breaths as she recomposed herself.

Lola wheezed as she regained her breath, before glaring at Lucy. What had just happened?

"You'd do well to not underestimate me," the diclonius queen gloated. "Tell me, did it never cross your mind that I wasn't taking this fight seriously? That that 10 meter reach was simply just me handicapping myself to see if you all could do anything?" The queen grinned towards the wounded diclonius, and shot another vector at the girl, this one reaching out close to 30 meters, shaving off a lock of the girl's hair as a warning.

Lola cursed as she realized what had just happened. Cautiously, she backed up to 50 meters, though now she wasn't sure if even that was safe. The waves were lapping at her feet as she considered her next move. She had expected the queen to be strong, but this was another level. And letting her guard down so carelessly, she was fooling.

She had one idea, she didn't want to have to resort to it, but Lucy was leaving her with little choice. Wordlessly she nodded towards her four remaining guards. Picking up on her thoughts, they took a ready stance. Lucy may be strong, but even she shouldn't have enough vectors to overpower five other diclonius.

Before they had a chance to spring into action, Lola noticed a boy running down the beachhead and grew even more irritated. She didn't need witnesses right now who might call the authorities and involve the SAT and their anti-diclonius weaponry.

Lucy noticed the boy too and swore. "Kouta, get away from here!" She yelled, but it was too late. She could already sense Lola's vectors shooting towards him. Without a moment to hesitate, Lucy sprang into action. She propelled herself across the beach, grabbing onto Kouta and throwing him as gently as she could out of the way. Lucy cried out in pain as the Lola's vector sliced through her side, leaving a sizeable wound.

Lola, meanwhile, looked on curiously. Why had Lucy just saved the boy? No matter, now the queen was out of commission for a moment. A moment would be all she would need to wrap this up.

Kouta laid paralyzed in shock, what had just happened? Was Lucy injured because of him? Not wasting a second, he scrambled to his feet and ran to her side. Lucy clenched her jaw as she struggled to get up, holding onto her side that was quickly oozing blood. This wasn't good. She had to make sure Kouta got away before Lola could do something to him.

Lola ran at the two, vectors poised to cut them into pieces when a loud crack echoed through the area. Milliseconds later the diclonius was sent spiraling to the ground. It wasn't until she looked at her arm, or the bloody mess that remained of it, that the pain registered.

The guard diclonius all looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They swiftly grabbed their leader and vacated the area before the unknown assailant could strike again.

Lucy silently thanked whoever had saved them before collapsing back down to the ground, passing out from blood loss. Kouta looked on forlorn, not sure what he could do. He brought her gently into his arms, trying his best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. It was his fault, he knew it. Lucy had been doing fine before he interrupted, before she had to risk herself to save him. Choking back sobs, he tried to think of how to help her.

"Kid what the hell are you doing just sitting there, we have to stop the bleeding!" Kouta was brought out of his despair by the familiar voice. Looking up he saw Bando running towards the two, carrying a hefty rifle, the type you'd see used to punch holes in tanks and other heavy vehicles. Was he the one that had shot Lola and saved Lucy?

The mercenary wasted no time, kneeling down beside the two. "Take off your shirt," he ordered Kouta, who nodded numbly and followed the command. "Good, now bunch it up and press it against the wound, that'll slow down the bleeding. Just make sure to keep pressure on it." Kouta obeyed. While he kept pressure on Lucy's side Bando opened one of the pockets on his jacket and retrieved a roll of gauze. Using his teeth to tear it open, he wrapped it tightly around Lucy's torso, holding Kouta's blood soaked shirt into place.

"Alright, that should hold for now. Come on, we can take her back to my place and I can dress the wound better." Bando said. Kouta again nodded. Delicately, he picked up Lucy's limp body, carrying her with him as Bando led the way to wherever it was that he was staying.

* * *

General Kanabe reclined in his desk, having just finished replying to emails and authorizing/rejecting various proposals in relation to the JSDF. His rest was quickly interrupted by a phone call. With a grunt, he picked up. "Kanabe speaking."

A panicked voice came through the other end. "Sir, we have a problem. Diclonius sightings in Kamakura."

 _ **Fortsetzung folgt…**_

 **AN** Sorry again for the long delay. This chapter kicked my ass. I couldn't figure out how to write a lot of it. I'm fairly satisfied now that I have gotten it out, and I hope any readers are as well. I completely bullshitted most of the sciencey stuff regarding diclonius hive mentality and such, hope it isn't too unbelievable. I'm admittedly not too versed in biology.

 **Silent Roar:** Since you posted anonymously and I can't just PM you my reply I'll respond here. Yes, this fic will be finished. I may be lazy, I may procrastinate, but by God I will finish this thing. In all actuality I'm shooting for a nice and pretty seven chapters (excluding the prologue), so it's halfway there already. And as you can see, the stakes are being raised.

On a related note, this story may be getting a bump to M soon. The next chapter is probably going to get graphic. And finally, I need a name for the Saseba agent. She's going to be showing up soon and I don't want to just call her "The Agent" throughout the story. So if anyone feels like, leave a name and I'll consider using it.


	6. Chapter V: Enthüllung

**Chapter V: Enthüllung**

 **AN:** Story has been bumped up to an M rating for some graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

Kouta numbly ran after Bando, operating purely on instinct. All of his higher brain functions were preoccupied with what had happened at the beach, with what he had caused. Looking down at the girl in his arms, the pained expression that covered her face, Kouta's grief only amplified.

"In here kid!" Bando barked. Kouta looked up to see the soldier yank open the door to a rather run down flat. As Kouta entered their rescuer's home, Bando strode powerfully through making his way to the table in the center of the kitchen.

"Oh, Mr. Bando, you're back!" Mayu popped out, her face brightening up. In her arms was an equally excited Wanta.

"Not now, girl," Bando commanded. Gracelessly shoving the contents of the table onto the floor, causing various plastic dishes and metal silverware to loudly clatter on the ground, he motioned for Kouta. "Set her down here." The boy dumbly nodded, carefully setting Lucy's body down onto the table.

Meanwhile, Bando made his way to the bathroom, grabbing a field kit before returning to the kitchen. "Hey, Mayu, why don't you go out for a bit? Don't want the pup being scarred by the scene." Bando suggested, surprising even himself with how softly he spoke to her. Mayu quietly obeyed, whispering to Wanta and heading outside.

When Bando heard the door to his home click shut, he turned to Kouta. "Alright kid, I'm going to need your help with this," Bando opened the pack and pulled out a bottle of antiseptic, washing some across his hands before snapping on a pair of surgical gloves. "The first thing we need to do is clean up the wound and see if there's any damage to the internal organs. There's a chance she may regain consciousness so if she does I need you to keep her steady and calm." Unfortunately, he didn't have time to apply a local anesthetic, so there wouldn't be any dulling of the pain she was about to feel. Kouta only nodded in response. Taking a pair of scissors out, Bando cut through the gauze and Kouta's old shirt. Dried and crusted blood was immediately covered with new warm blood as the pressure was released. Taking a few cloths and watering them down with the disinfectant, Bando began cleaning up the area. Kouta could make out Lucy's face clenching and contorting as the liquid cleaned and sanitized the area.

"Alright kid, you're going to want to hold her down. This is probably going to hurt." Bando just hoped Kouta would be able to calm her before the diclonius' vectors tore them to shreds. Mentally preparing himself, Bando pushed his hands against either side of the gash, applying more and more pressure to spread it open. More and more blood oozed out of the cut. He didn't think she had lost a lethal amount yet, but even so he had to be quick to discern weather there was any internal damage.

Lucy's eyes finally shot open as she regained consciousness. The first thing she sensed was the overwhelming burning in her side. She immediately recoiled and began thrashing, crying out in anger and pain. "Hold her down!" She heard, and immediately turned her head to the voice. It was that bastard SAT soldier! What the fuck was he doing to her? She tried focusing, willing a vector to come out despite the pain she was feeling, but another voice finally broke through her anguish.

"Lucy it's me, I'm right here." She again craned her head to see Kouta hovering right over her, hands pressed into her shoulders in an attempt to still her movements. "Bando's trying to help, you just need to stay still, okay?" And while she didn't trust Bando any further than she could throw him – granted she could throw him quite far – she did trust Kouta. Nodding at him, she clenched her eyes shut, focusing on overcoming the pain. She had fared far worse under the "experiments" at the research institute, she could bear this little pain.

Bando let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Lucy became docile at Kouta's words. Finishing his assessment and glad that there was indeed no internal damage, the mercenary removed his hands from Lucy's laceration. He quickly went for a needle and thread, looping the string through. He only hoped that he hadn't gotten too rusty at stitching.

"I'm going to warn you, this is gonna hurt like a sonofabitch." Bando told the diclonius.

"As if it doesn't already, just get it over with." Bando smirked at the girl's steadfastness. Positioning the needle, he pierced it through her skin. Surprisingly the only reaction from Lucy was a quiet grunt. Taking that as a good sign he quickly began working the needle through the gash, going over and under a number of times before doubling back.

As Bando worked all Kouta could do was look on helplessly. Lucy had long since stopped fighting and was now struggling with herself to maintain some sense of composure. Biting back his tears, the boy was startled when he felt something grab his hand. He was surprised to see Lucy holding onto him, her grip tightening around his hand as if trying to find an outlet for her pain. Nodding to himself, Kouta brought his other hand over to cover hers. If this was all he could do for Lucy, provide some outlet for her pain, some comfort, he would do it. She deserved that much.

Snipping off the end of the thread and tidying it up, Bando looked on proudly at his stitching job. It wasn't too shabby in his opinion. Next he cleaned up any excess blood that still resided on the outside of the cut, before grabbing a set of antibiotic treated pads out of their packaging and placing them over the stitching. Finally, he grabbed a new roll of gauze and wrapped it around Lucy's torso multiple times.

"Alright, that should do the job for now," Bando nodded towards the two as he cut the end of the gauze off, finishing the dressing. "Now get her off my table. I don't need it getting any messier than it already is." Confused, Kouta carefully picked up Lucy. He was unsure what to do with her, he didn't want to take her all the way to the Maple Inn when she was still recovering, but he didn't have any other idea of what to do. As he made his way to the doorway, Bando groaned.

"What are you, stupid? You can't take her outside like that. Lay her down over there to rest for a while." Bando pointed to his run down yet surprisingly clean couch. Kouta nodded, grateful for the soldier's hospitality, and gently laid Lucy down on the sofa. The diclonius cracked an eye open, appreciation radiating towards the boy as a small smile spread across her face, before she slowly slipped away into unconsciousness again. Kouta sat still at her side, her hand still held tightly in his.

Bando just sighed at the display. _'Well fuck, guess I gotta clean this crap up now.'_ He thought to himself as he began wiping up the mess the bleeding diclonius had made of his kitchen.

* * *

Outside the city of Kamakura, in the neighboring forest region, a group of diclonius dutifully worked to stitch together the remnants of their queen's arm. Regretfully, they knew she would lose everything from the elbow down, but at least they could save her life.

Lola cried out in pain as her veins and capillaries were closed off, skin shifted to cover the exposed stump. "When I get my hands on that bitch!" Lola cursed out, more to take her mind off the pain than anything.

Exhausted from the precise work that mending wounds required, the four still active guard diclonius backed away. Unfortunately, their sister with a broken leg would need to wait before they could help her.

Bringing herself up, Lola braced herself against a tree. "Damnit, I hate to admit it but on a one on one Lucy has me beat." The rival queen said to no one in particular. "And now that the element of surprise is wasted, I only have one option left. Focusing, Lola called out to her enclave, willing them to come to where she was. She'd need to wait at least a day for them to reach her, but that would be fine.

There was, however, one other problem. There was no way her and Lucy's fight had gone unnoticed, and the JSDF would no doubt be scrambling to intercept any diclonius in the area. For now she would retreat further away from Kamakura. With any luck maybe the humans would take care of the other queen before she had to.

* * *

Lucy came to once again, and again the first thing she felt was a dull aching in her side, though significantly tamer than the searing pain before. Opening her eyes, she couldn't help but be elated to see Kouta laying dutifully at her side, head resting on the couch while the rest of him laid on the floor. She went to brush her hand through his hair, but was surprised to find it held firmly in his grasp.

The movement, it seemed, was enough to stir the boy awake. Looking up, Kouta's tired eyes snapped awake when he noticed Lucy staring down at him. Immediately he wrapped his arms around the girl, careful to avoid jostling her or touching her bandaged area. As such his attempted hug was more so him wrapping his arms around her shoulders and neck than a proper hug.

Lucy laid stunned as Kouta whispered out apology after apology, trying desperately to repent for the pain he had caused her. "I'm sorry, Lucy. It's all my fault. Because of me, you're in this state." Regaining focus and gently pulling Kouta off of her to look at him directly, she visibly saw the anguish painted across his face. "I'm so stupid, if I had jus–" he was cut off as Lucy brought her lips to his, immediately silencing the boy. His body went near limp, eyes wide in shock as Lucy moved her lips slowly against his. When she eventually pulled away, Kouta was still at a loss for words. Smiling, Lucy brought a hand to his face, wiping away a tear.

"Kouta, you have nothing to apologize for. It's my purpose to protect you." She gave him a soft smile, taking his hand in hers. "My life is yours."

Kouta vigorously shook his head. "Lucy, you shouldn't say things like that. Your life is worth more than that." He again wrapped her in a pseudo-hug. "Besides, I don't think I could bear to lose you again."

"Kouta…" Lucy whispered lovingly, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.

"Jesus Christ you two, can't you wait until you get home to do this lovey dovey crap?" Bando shouted out, entering the room. In his mouth a lit cigarette slowly burned. Kouta immediately snapped up in embarrassment while Lucy just let out a quiet laugh.

Sneaking out behind his shadow, Mayu skipped over to where the two laid. In her arms was the ever excited Wanta. The pup grew even more excited at the extra company, slipping out of Mayu's arms and jumping onto the couch cushion. Lucy snickered a bit as he hopped around, nuzzling and licking her. One of his jumps caused the small dog to fall back into Lucy's side, sending a blaze of pain through her. Mayu noticed this and immediately pulled Wanta away.

"Yeah, you may want to be careful with that for a while. It was a pretty nasty cut." Bando commented. Lucy paid him little mind, lifting herself up and pulling her tank top up slightly. Seconds later an invisible force sliced through the gauze wrapping around her torso, pulling away at the wraps that covered her gash. The group watched on in awe as stitching fell out while flesh mended itself together, the cigarette in Bando's mouth falling to the ground with a dull thud.

Lucy, finishing up piecing her side back together and repositioning her shirt, looked up at the group and cracked a wry smile. Looking at Bando in particular she commented "Your job was good and all, but it can't quite compete."

"Lucy, isn't it a bit dangerous for you to be doing that?" Kouta eyed her now healed side warily, remembering what had happened to the girl when she had used her vectors to heal a gunshot wound of his.

The queen diclonius waved him off. "Oh relax Kouta, compared to piecing you back together, this was child's play." Kouta just shook his head and sighed.

Besides, of all of Lucy's concerns, overexerting her powers was very low on that list. "Bando, why did you of all people help me? I'd figure my injured state would be a perfect opportunity for you to even the score."

The mercenary grunted. "Don't get used to it. I was told there were some freaks at the beach, so of course I'd do some spring cleaning."

"Maybe," Lucy responded. "But that doesn't explain why you would go out of your way to stitch me back together."

"We still have a score to settle, and I'll be damned if I let some other bitch kill you before I get my chance," Mayu whined at his language but Bando ignored her. "Finishing what she started would just be sloppy seconds."

Lucy tried her best to suppress a laugh at his choice of words. "Well, if that's your reasoning, then I'm thankful regardless." And she meant it. If Bando hadn't intervened it was very likely Kouta would have died to those other diclonius.

Looking down at herself she noted the sorry state of her clothing shredded from her battle with the other diclonius they were less than modest. And Kouta wasn't much better off, his shirt having been used as a makeshift bandage had left him a bit more exposed than normal. Not that Lucy minded the sight, but she could only assume that he was less than comfortable.

"Hey, Bando. Since you seem to be in the mood for charity, you wouldn't happen to have any clothes we could borrow?" Lucy figured it didn't hurt to ask. The mercenary snorted.

"What do I look like? A wish granting fairy?" Grumbling he went to his room and grabbed a few bundles, throwing them at the two. "The squirt got these. Thank her." He pointed to Mayu, minding her own business sitting at Bando's now clean table. The girl perked up at her name, offering the three a wave. "Bathroom's that way, get yourselves cleaned up. I don't want you stinking up the damned place." The two nodded thankfully. And Bando walked back towards his room, leaving with one last comment. "But one at a time. I don't want any funny business going on when there's kids around." Kouta's face relit at the assertion.

* * *

"Is it really wise to bring Lucy along with us?" Arikawa asked her companion over the rhythmic beating of the helicopter blade. Kurama looked up at her and gave her a curt not.

"If we want to get into what's left of the facility, we'll need her help. As strong as Nana is, I don't want to put all that pressure on her." He looked down towards the girl sitting to his side, legs kicking lazily. She met his gaze and smiled.

"Don't worry, Papa. Nana could definitely do whatever you asked." She replied enthusiastically.

"I'm sure you'd give it your all, Nana." Kurama patted her head fondly.

Arikawa just sighed. "If that's what you think is best." Looking out the window to the rapidly approaching Kamakura, her eyes widened slightly. "Hey, Kurama. Check this out."

"Hmm, what is it?" He looked out the window as well, Kurama let out a curse. All the highways leading into and out of the city had been blockaded, guarded by JSDF soldiers backed up by Vector Attack Crafts. "What the hell is going on down there?"

As if on cue, his phone began to ring. Fishing for the device in his pocket and flipping it open, he looked warily and the unknown number. "Kurama speaking." He answered.

"Uhm, hi, it's Yuka. Kouta wanted me to get ahold of you. It's about the Inn and Lucy." Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose as Yuka informed him of as much as she knew.

"Damn, this isn't good. Where are they now?" Kurama asked.

"If I had to guess they'd be with Bando, wherever he is." Yuka replied. Kurama gave a silent prayer of thanks. Though it was a time in his life he wasn't entirely proud of, Kurama was familiar with the man. As such he had a good idea of where the ex-SAT soldier was located.

"Thank you, Yuka. You and Nozomi try and stay safe, okay? I have a feeling things are going to get worse before they get better." The two said their goodbyes and hung up. "Pilot, change of course. We're landing in city."

"Dr., are you sure about that? Kamakura has been designated restricted air space." The pilot shouted to his passenger.

"It'll be fine. I should have clearance to get through." Kurama wasn't 100% sure of that, but he hoped his name at least would keep the JSDF from shooting him down, especially if Arikawa was with him.

As if on cue the screech of a pair of jets rocketed past the helicopter. _"Unidentified aircraft, you're approaching restricted air space, please divert course 15 degrees north."_

Grabbing a headset from the cockpit, Kurama responded. "This is a civilian craft carrying Dr. Arikawa of the WHO. We have time sensitive business in the area. Please allow clearance."

There was a long pause while the pilots presumably relayed the information to their superiors. "Very well, clearance authorized. Please be aware that there are confirmed reports of diclonius activity in the area; Threat level severe. We will be unable to guarantee protection to any civilians inside the quarantined area."

Kurama breathed a sigh of relief. "Understood, and thank you," Pointing out a ghetto in the city, the doctor spoke to the craft's pilot. "Alright, set us down there." The pilot nodded and began his approach.

* * *

Anna Kakuzawa, last surviving member of the Kakuzawa lineage, carefully made her way through her shared residence, carrying a tray of rice balls and tea. It was well past noon but she figured her guardian could use a distraction from that computer she occupied herself with all the time. Well, all the time that she was home at least.

"Uhm, Miss Kiko, I brought you some food." The girl demurely spoke as she entered her guardian's room. The blonde agent turned from her computer screen and gave the girl a groan.

"Anna I told you not to call me by that," she said as she took a rice ball from the tray. "But thank you." The black haired girl giggled in response.

"But it's such a pretty name. How can you not like it?" She set the tray down on Kiko's computer desk and proceeded to pour two cups of tea.

"Psh, a name like that is hardly cool enough for a secret agent like me." Flipping her long hair back to enunciate her point, the agent only received another giggle from her ward.

"I suppose you should have a _super cool spy name_ then right? How about after that James Bond guy? We can call you Pierce Brosnan." Anna held her hand to her mouth as she attempted to stifle yet another laugh.

"Tsk, as if I'd ever want to be related to _his_ Bond movies. Everyone worth their salt knows Roger Moore was the best Bond."

Their idle chatter was interrupted by the ringing of Kiko's phone. Flipping the device over to check the caller ID, the agent's eyebrows arched at the number. She quickly grabbed the phone and answered. "Agent Kinaka."

"Agent, report to HQ right away." The sharp voice spoke through the receiver.

"General Kanabe? What's this about? It's my day off you know." She replied, surprised by her boss's urgent orders.

"Agent haven't you been watching the news? No one has off today." The general stated. Kiko held the phone between her head and her shoulder as she tapped away on her keyboard to open a local news site. In bold letters, the featured article read "BREAKING: Kamakura warded off by JSDF after Diclonius sighting."

"Understood sir, I'll be there as soon as I can," hanging up, she turned to Anna, the girl's curiosity fighting with her politeness having prevented her from peeking a glimpse of her guardian's computer screen. "Well, no rest for the wicked I suppose. Hold down the fort while I'm out, 'kay?" Ruffling the black haired girls locks, she got up out of her seat and began changing into her work clothes.

"Hey, what's going on?" Anna finally asked as Kiko shamelessly changed in front of the girl.

"Real life calling, that's all," she replied, pulling her shirt over her head and grabbing her shades off of her desk. "Do me a favor kid, don't ever grow up."

Seeing her guardian off, Kiko gave an amused nod. "I'll do my best. You do your best too, okay Miss Kiko?"

"I told you not to call me that!" The agent called out, but Anna had already closed the door behind her. Groaning, the blond got in her car and made her way towards the inner city.

* * *

Cleaned and changed, Lucy and Kouta sat idly on Bando's couch. There wasn't much to do in the ex-SAT soldier's house; the place was very spartan. So that left a lot of time to think. And all Kouta could think about was Yuka and Nozomi and if they were safe.

"Hey, Bando, do you have a phone here?" Kouta asked as he reluctantly parted from Lucy. The more time passed the more worried he got about his cousin and her friend. He wanted to try and get ahold of them to see if they were safe.

"Of course not, too easy to track." The mercenary grunted as he peeked out of his kitchen window shades, scanning the streets for any unusual activity. In the time between their showers Bando had grown wary of something and was continuously checking outside.

"Hmm…." Kouta rubbed his chin, carefully considering their options. "Alright, I'm going to go to Yuka's parents and see if they heard anything." As he went to go throw on his shoes a large hand grabbed his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that, kid." Bando spoke behind him. Kouta turned around and gave him a curious gaze. Bando simply moved over to the radio in the room and flipped it on to a local broadcast.

" _-s an emergency alert. Kamakura is currently under martial law. All residence please remain in your homes for the duration of this emergency. The government thanks you for your cooperation. Once again, this is an emergency alert. Kama-"_ Bando turned off the radio as it began to loop again.

"Don't look so surprised. We created quite a stir down at the beach. Of course word of that is going to spread fast." Bando waved off Kouta's growing confusion.

"Wait, what does that mean? Martial law? So we're all trapped here now?" Kouta was growing even more worried. What if there were more diclonius? What if they found Yuka and Nozomi?

"That's a way of putting it. In a time of crisis the government suspends the regular rule of law in favor of extreme measures to guarantee public safety, or so the theory goes," Bando chuckled. "Never much of a fan of governments myself, only reason I joined up to become one of their peons was for the excuse to shoot stuff." He grinned at his wicked words.

Kouta wasn't as amused. "But they could be in danger! Are you saying I shouldn't do anything?" Bando just shrugged.

"Hey, I'm not your baby sitter. You're your own man, make your own decisions. I'm just giving you my two cents."

"Well then I'm going out." Kouta decided.

"Not without me you're not." Lucy spoke out as she made her way into the kitchen with the two.

"Lucy!" Kouta shouted out concerned. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving around yet."

"Relax Kouta, I'm a big girl. I know my limits," Kouta mumbled something about her limits not stopping her before, but she ignored it. "Kouta, I know you're concerned about your cousin. Let me help you make sure she's okay." Kouta wanted to protest more but Lucy gave him a stern look that wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Alright fine. But please be careful." Kouta finally relented.

"Am I ever not?" Lucy replied jokingly. Kouta's stare of disbelief was his answer. "Right, don't answer that." She finished sheepishly.

"For the record I think that you two are being really fucking dumb right now." Bando commented, still looking out the window.

"Noted." Lucy replied.

"Well as long as that's se—what the fuck is that?" Bando's train of thought was interrupted as a helicopter swooped over the house before landing a few blocks away. Scrambling towards his room, Bando quickly punched in the combo to a safe, pulling out G3 rifle and quickly loading a mag and chambering the first round.

"I should feel insulted. Lucy mused as Bando returned to his post, warily eyeing the area where the chopper landed. "You have, in your house, the ultimate bioweapon known to man, and yet you fall back on an antique like that."

Bando grinned. "Sorry lady, but I'll take cold hard steel over crazy psychic powers any day." That was the last comment made before the group fell into silence. Mayu had entered the room, Wanta in tow, to find out what all the prior noise was about but was quickly hushed by Bando.

"God damn it really?" Bando finally commented as a figure appeared in his vision. Lowering his rifle he went for the door. He opened it and quickly shouted. "Kurama, get your ass in here."

At Bando's request, the doctor made his way into his one-time living mate's new housing, bringing with him a very bewildered Dr. Arikawa. "Thanks Bando, I don't think I'd have been able to figure out which house was yours otherwise," seeing Lucy and Kouta inside, Kurama let out a sigh of relief. "Good, Yuka was right, you two are here." At his cousin's name, Kouta perked up.

"Yuka? Is she okay? How about Nozomi? Where are they? Did anything happen?" Kouta's barrage of questions caught the older man off guard.

"Relax Kouta, they're fine. Yuka called me from her parent's house. They're there right now," The youth let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation of his cousin's and Nozomi's safety. "More importantly. There's something we need to discuss with Lucy. And seeing how it involves Lucy, it's probably for the best to bring you along as well."

Lucy, though still somewhat wary of her once upon a time captor, obliged his request. "What do you need me for?"

"From my understanding Chief Kakuzawa had a secret laboratory under the island that the research facility was located. We were hoping you could take us there," Kurama explained. "We think there might be something there that can help us understand the diclonius, and how exactly you survived."

Kouta grew suspicious at that assertion. "What does it matter how she survived? Don't we have more important things going on right now? Like how there's a bunch of diclonius who want Lucy dead? Or how the government knows that there's diclonius in Kamakura?"

"You're absolutely right, Kouta," Arikawa entered in. "But think of it this way. That other diclonius, Lola was her name? For all intents and purposes she was another diclonius queen. If we can figure out what's going on with Lucy, we might be able to figure out how a second queen diclonius exists in the first place."

Kouta furrowed his brow, still overprotective of Lucy but not able to immediately refute the doctor's point. Lucy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's right Kouta. I might be able to fend off the strike force Lola brought with her, but who knows how many more people she has under her command. And isn't one of the arts of war to know your enemy?" Lucy smirked.

"Clever girl." Bando commented, but otherwise kept to himself.

"When did you have time to read up on Sun Tzu?" Kurama commented, surprised by Lucy's reference.

"You'd be surprised what I picked up on in that cell," Lucy gave him a devilish grin. "Your security wasn't nearly as tight lipped as you might have believed."

Her façade became a bit more serious after that comment. "However, there is a bit of a problem. That cave was bathing in radiation. You wouldn't survive two seconds down there."

Kurama nodded. "Already accounted for and taken care of. We have radiation suits in the cargo. We can suit up in the chopper."

"Speaking of chopper…" Bando butted into the conversation again. "Kurama are you fucking retarded?! You flew right through restricted airspace with a civilian aircraft like that?!"

"Oh relax, we got clearance." Kurama brushed off the mercenary's harsh words.

"I wasn't done yet. I don't give a shit about what you do in your free time. You have suicidal tendencies that's your thing. But you landed it right next to my house. You don't think that's going to draw suspicion to this place? Damn it now I have to move again!" Bando muttered something about going off the grid, but otherwise kept the rest of his resentment to himself.

"Well, if there isn't anything else to discuss, we should head out. The quicker we get there the better." The group nodded and made their way out.

"Uhm, Mr. Kurama?" Mayu finally spoke up before they left. "Nana is with you, right?" The doctor nodded so she continued. "Can you tell her I said hi?"

"Of course Mayu." Kurama gave her a soft smile and the group left the house.

"Good, go. It was getting crowded around here anyways." Bando commented as the door shut.

"Aw, did Mr. Bando want to go with them?" Mayu asked

"What? Go to a top secret facility with potential for danger and adventure? Why would I?" Bando muttered.

"Don't worry Mr. Bando, we can have fun here too!" She shuffled up to the soldier, Wanta still in arms, and the pup gave his grizzled face a happy lick. "Wanna play fetch with Wanta?"

"Dumb kid." Bando whispered, too quiet for Mayu to hear.

* * *

The blades of the helicopter sliced through the air as the group made their way towards the sunken remains of the Institute. "So how are we getting down there?" Kouta finally asked. Dressed in a bulky hazmat suit like the rest of the group, his voice was carried over through a headset.

Kurama pointed to a diver propulsion vehicle. "We use that. The suits are waterproof and good for pressures up to 150 psi. That should be enough to withstand however deep this lab is. We'll winch onto the submersible and pilot it through to the lab."

"Alright doctor, we're over the ruins of the facility now. Beginning decent." The pilot spoke over the radio.

"Understood." Kurama replied. "Alright everyone, get ready." The group, consisting of Nana, Dr. Arikawa, Kouta, and Lucy nodded in response. When the helicopter was hovering a few feet over the water he pushed the vehicle into the water, it landing with a heavy splash. "Oh, Nana, I almost forgot. Mayu says hi." Nana smiled at the mention of her friend.

The older male dived into the water and the rest of the group followed. Using lines of paracord, the group tied themselves onto the submersible. "Okay Lucy, lead the way." Kurama showed her the controls and had the diclonius take the lead.

Amidst the quiet hum of the propulsion vehicle, the group of five made their way through the waters. Diving deeper and deeper, Lucy found the general location of where she had recalled the lab being. Arikawa pointed out an opening in the rubble and they made their way forward. "Alright Lucy, see if you can find an area that hasn't been flooded." Kurama spoke through the radio. They continued until Lucy spotted the glow of light above the water. Pointing the vehicle up, they made their way to the surface.

Coming up above the water, they found a spot of shallow water to set the submersible. Kouta took stock of their surroundings. They had surfaced in a small cave, seemingly lit from light leaking out past a bend in the tunnel. Unhitching themselves from the vehicle, the group began trekking towards the source of light. Quickly, the small cave opened up into a massive chamber, home of Chief Kakuzawa's failed _Lebensborn Project_. "Hmm, so this place survived the facility's collapse." Lucy commented as they explored the giant cave.

"Looks like the emergency power is still running. I'm surprised by how sturdy this place was built." Kurma commented absentmindedly. The whole cave was bathed in a dull red light, just enough to make out a few doors and a collapsed elevator dotting the landscape. The group made their way to the nearest door, opening it and finding the hallway caved in.

"Well, onto the next one I guess." Arikawa stated with a sigh. She turned around and began to walk back when the sound of rock being smashed startled her. Looking back again she saw Nana focusing as her invisible vectors tore through and pushed the rubble aside. "Or we could do that." The doctor finished.

"Good job, Nana." Kurama praised his surrogate daughter, giving her a head pat through the hazmat suit. The smaller diclonius let out a sigh of content. Making their way forward, they finally entered what appeared to be a security room.

"Well, it's a better start than nothing. Let's start sorting through the recordings and see if there's anything important." Kurama directed. They filed through recordings and played a few that sounded important, but came across nothing too extraordinary. Until Arikawa found a file labeled "Patient Zero" containing a couple tapes.

"I think I found something interesting here." The doctor called out to the rest. They gathered around as she inserted the tape.

The tape read " _Begin Playback"_ before cutting to a clip of a woman bound up, her face undistinguishable due to the lighting of the room.

" _Where's Kade."_ She finally spoke after a moment.

" _Your guess is as good as mine, Miss… what was your name again?"_ a voice, Chief Kakuzawa's, responded.

" _Screw. You."_ She replied.

" _Feisty, aren't you? You know, for the mother of Eve, I would have expected you to be a bit more feminine."_ The Chief finally came into view. _"No matter. It's not you I'm after, but your genes. With you, we'll create an Adam for our new race."_ As Kakuzawa approached the woman she shriveled away.

" _Get away from me you monster!"_ she snapped at him as he grew closer.

" _But my dear, we must complete the ceremony."_ His hands began running up and down the woman as she shuddered in disgust. Before it went any further the tape cut out.

"What the hell was that?" Kouta asked in disbelief. Kurama had a much more disturbed look on his face. He had a good guess as to what that just was.

Lucy was visibly trembling at the video's conclusion. "T-that was my mom." She finally spoke. "Kakuzawa had told me he had captured her, forced her to have another child, but this…" She began tearing up. "The first time I hear her voice, and it's seeing her like that." Kouta went to hug her, but she held him off. "Play the next one." Arikawa silently complied, inserting the next tape.

" _You'll be happy to know the child is healthy as a horse."_ The Chief began, speaking to Lucy's still bound mother.

" _Fuck you, you monster."_ She replied simply.

" _My oh my, is that any way for a new mother to react?"_ The chief gloated. _"But there's even more family tidings, we're finally closing in on Eve. It won't be long until Lebensborn can begin in earnest."_

" _Please, let me see her."_ Lucy's mother finally spoke after a bout of silence.

" _Very well, for your cooperation in the creation of the new world, I'll let you see what your daughter has grown into."_ Kakuzawa brought a photo in front of her, a picture of a much younger Lucy, still sporting a familiar blue hat.

" _Kaede…"_ the nearly broken woman whispered affectionately.

" _Of course, when she actually comes to the facility any contact between you two will be strictly forbidden. Eve is too volatile to allow such freedom."_ Kakuzawa offhandedly mentioned as he tucked the photo away.

" _You bastard what do you plan on doing to her?!"_ her spirit renewed, the woman yelled back at the Chief.

" _Eventually, once she and Adam are old enough, we'll use them to create the new race that will inherit the earth."_ Kakuzawa stated plainly.

Her mother fell limp again, disheartened by his words. _"Kaede, I'm so sorry,"_ her mother whispered. _"If only I had been able to keep you. None of this would have happened."_

" _Oh my dear, what is there to regret? With your help we will evolve this earth past the barbarity of humanity."_ The chief gloated, waving his hands in a dramatic fashion.

" _Just leave me alone."_ Lucy's mother whispered. Before long the clip came to an end.

"There's one more tape, Lucy. Do you want me to play that one as well?" Arikawa asked. The queen diclonius numbly nodded so the doctor inserted the last recording.

The video started with Lucy's mother hanging limply from her bindings. _"Sir, patient zero committed suicide while guard shifts were changing last night."_ A voice behind the camera spoke.

" _Unacceptable! How did this happen?!"_ Kakuzawa raged, also concealed behind the camera.

" _It seems she was able to slip a pin off of one of the guards, probably while they were washing her off. Then during the guard shift she punctured a major artery and bled out."_ The guard explained.

" _That insane woman. Why would she take her life when she was going to be the mother of a new species? The mother of Adam and Eve? She could have been a god!"_ Kakuzawa ranted. _"Try and salvage her reproductive organs. At least we can use them to cause artificial conception and birth more pure diclonius."_

The tape cut forward, as if spliced with another one. _"Sir, it appears the harvested organs are unusable."_ A different, more feminine voice spoke _._ This tape took place in a medical facility.

" _Wonderful."_ Kakuzawa muttered.

" _Sir, if I may. This incident raises a very real concern with the project. If one of the subjects were to take their own lives or to die due to other complications, the entire Lebensborn Project would be lost."_ The doctor spoke to the Chief.

" _Yes, that's a valid point…"_ Kakuzawa thought for a moment. _"How is the progress on Project Dolly coming along?"_

" _Very good so far, sir. We've had multiple successes with Number 35."_ She replied.

" _Good. Prep another batch for Eve when she arrives. Adam is docile enough that I don't think we'll need to expend the resources, but we can't be sure of his sister."_ The Chief commanded.

" _Yes sir."_ The tape concluded before cutting out.

The room was filled with silence following the end of the recording. Lucy tried desperately to hold back the welling emotions that were churning inside of her. "Up until the end, my mom was thinking of me…" She whispered to herself, but loud enough that Kouta was able to hear her. Kouta once again tried giving her a hug, and this time she offered no resistance. Quietly trembling in his arms she continued rambling. "Despite everything that bastard put her through, she was thinking of me."

Meanwhile, Arikawa and Kurama were searching through other files. Arikawa in particular was after a file she had glossed over earlier labeled "Project Dolly." She had an 'aha' moment when she finally found it. There were a few documents lying out DNA sequences and stem cell research, along with another tape. Throwing caution to the wind, Arikawa inserted it and let it start playing.

As the tape began, a distinctly male voice spoke into the recorder to a backdrop of a laboratory featuring a series of human sized capsules. _"Log #7: Preliminary experiments on Subject Eve are turning in mixed results. We've had a few promising batches but none have turned out to be viable. It seems that trying to recreate the queen's DNA sequence is much more difficult than the Silpelits. The chief has allocated resources for another half dozen tests. Hopefully we can show results before that funding dries up. I don't want to imagine what he'll do if we fail."_

The tape cut out before playback began on another recording. _"Log #16. This batch is showing some results, and not a moment too soon. The Chief is moving funding away from Project Dolly towards vaccine research. Chief Kakuzawa has given the go ahead to begin accelerated growth of the viable subjects to bring them in line with the original."_

Another cut, and another log. _"Log #18. One subject has survived accelerated growth. We've been given the go ahead to put her into cold storage for future use. The Chief seemed overjoyed at having a backup. It's reassuring to know that if something should happen to Eve we'll still have another to continue further research."_ As the speaker adjusted the camera, a cryotube replacing the previous capsules came into focus, revealing a female diclonius in stasis, Lucy.

"W-what is that?" Kouta asked in shock.

"Holy crap, he actually did it." Arikawa commented. Lucy looked on in disbelief, as did Nana and Kouta to a lesser extent. Kurama's jaw just tightened.

"What the hell is that?" Lucy finally managed, still held in Kouta's arms.

"That, Lucy, is you." Arikawa replied. "Or it might be more accurate to say, you as you currently are. You are a clone of the original Lucy."

"Bullshit," Lucy spat out. "I don't remember any of that. Besides, how would I have any memory of dying if that was true?"

"Of course you wouldn't remember being cloned. That'd be like a child remembering being born. As far as having all of the memories that you do…" Arikawa pondered. "The only theory I have is the diclonius hive mind imprinted the memories onto your new body."

"That doesn't make any sense." Lucy denied.

"About as much sense as having telekinetic abilities does." Arikawa commented. Kurama placed a hand on the female doctor's shoulder, trying to get her to lighten up her assault. He couldn't imagine the trauma that this was causing the young girl.

"Lucy, it would explain a lot,' Kurama took over. "Like why you're still alive while simultaneously there existing documented proof of your remains from the candle tower. It would also explain why you've never reverted to your Nyu state since coming back; your new body hasn't experienced the same trauma as your old one, just the memories of that trauma."

Lucy thought about it. And she couldn't deny it. She hadn't felt Nyu or that DNA voice since waking up on the shore. "But, if this is all true… am I even Lucy? Am I even Kaede?" Her sense of self was completely shattered.

"Lucy, look at me." Kouta shook her out of her daze." The stunned girl looked at her male companion with wide eyes. "Do you remember the time we played together as kids? Or the time we went to the zoo?" Lucy dumbly nodded. "And the time we spent together in the Maple Inn?" Again she nodded. "Then that's what matters. No matter what, you're still Lucy, you're still Kaede." He pulled her close into another hug, despite the bulk of the hazmat suits.

"You're still the girl I fell in love with."

If Lucy's eyes could have grown any bigger that would have caused it. The diclonius almost went limp at Kouta's words."Kouta… you…?"

"Lucy I don't care how you're alive, I just care that you are. I just care that I have another chance to grow close to you." Kouta continued.

"Kouta's right, Lucy." Nana chimed in. "When you returned your presence felt just the same as it did before. As far as I'm concerned you're still the same Lucy that lived with us before."

Kurama smiled at Nana and at Kouta. The two really were wonderful people. "Nana, Arikawa, let's keep on searching over the files in this place and the other two facilities we saw. Why don't you two head back to the submersible. We'll meet you when we're done searching the place."

Kouta nodded and lead Lucy back to the sub while the rest of the group combed over the facility. Any other documents and recordings would have to be brought back with them and studied when they had reached the shore. Luckily Kurama had brought airtight packaging to store all of it on the way back.

Back at the sub, Kouta sat against a wall, Lucy resting in his arms. The girl was mentally fatigued after all of the news brought to light concerning her mother and her rebirth. "Kouta, you're amazing. You know that?" She whispered.

"I'm not sure I'd go that far." He gave out a sheepish laugh at the compliment.

"But you are. I've never met a person as kind and as caring as you." She pushed herself as far into him as their suits would allow.

"You must have not met that many people then." He commented modestly. Lucy shook her head in defeat. Technically he was right, she hadn't known many people in her life. But even if she had, the girl wagered she'd never find someone as kind as Kouta.

"Knock knock. Hope we're not interrupting anything,' Kurama commented as the three returned from their search. "We've gathered all that we could. There was some interesting stuff on the diclonius genome and brain activity when in groups. It should help us out a little bit at least. You two ready to head out?" Kouta nodded as he lifted himself and Lucy up off the ground. Attaching themselves back to the diver propulsion vehicle, the group made their way back to the surface.

On their way back up the group noticed a lot more noise on the surface. As they finally parted the water back to the top, the group was greeted by a large squadron of military helicopters.

A loud voice boomed over one of the craft's megaphones. **"Dr. Kurama, Dr. Arikawa, you and your associates are under arrest under accusation of conspiring with known terrorist elements. Place your hands visibly on your craft away from your body and remain that way until we bring you into custody."**

* * *

 _ **Fortsetzung folgt…**_

 **AN:** Another rough chapter, but I've kept you all waiting long enough. I've long since come to the conclusion that I'm going to need to do a second edition of this story when I finish it to clean up and repace everything. Until then, enjoy what there is. Or don't, your call.

And the revelation of Lucy's "Rebirth" (badum tis) comes to light. Was it as lame as you thought it would be? Maybe. I hope I at least made it interesting. This theory of Lucy's survival came from one main source, 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2.' For as lame as that game was, it had an interesting way of bringing Starkiller back, and the existential dilemma that cloning presents is an interesting one. It's like the Ship of Theseus paradox on an entirely different level. What defines the self? Is it your genes? Your memories? Your beliefs? It's an interesting thought.

And being Chapter V, the opening was heavily inspired by Metal Gear Solid V, especially from Ground Zeroes. Anyone who's played the game will probably spot the similarities.

 **Silent Roar:** Get an account dang it. Replying to you like this is tacky. Anyways, thanks for the kind words, did you guess the Rebirth correctly? And as far as the lifespan of these characters are concerned, well you'll just have to wait and see.

Cheers.


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